Macron hits out at bosses’ ‘astronomical’ salaries as France’s election battle escalates Business

Emmanuel Macron has launched an assault on highly paid bosses as he battles the populist politics of Marine Le Pen, his hard-right challenger for the French presidency.

He has pledged to seek a salary cap on “astronomical” CEO awards in a bid to woo leftist voters ahead of the April 24 presidential runoff.

In a radio interview on Friday, Mr Macron joined in criticizing the decision of the owner of Vauxhall and Citroën Stellantis to pay his boss, Carlos Tavares, more than 19 million euros (15.7 million pounds pounds) last year.

“It’s shocking, it’s excessive,” said the French president, a former investment banker, who called for a limit to be imposed by the European Union.

“We need to have ceilings and governance in our Europe that makes things acceptable, otherwise society, at some point, will explode,” he said. “Without framing them in a range, we should be able to set a course.”

Wages at the level Mr Tavares received were difficult for ordinary people struggling to make ends meet, he said, tapping into one of the main election themes.

“We must convince our European partners of the need for a reform that governs the remuneration of our executives,” added Mr. Macron.

He went further than Ms Le Pen, who also called Mr Tavares’ salary shocking, but ruled out any limits on what bosses earn.