“The good conduct of large groups is not indexed to the personal enrichment of a handful of leaders”

Lhe government plans, to facilitate the recruitment of Jean-Bernard Lévy’s successor at the head of EDF, to remove or remove the ceiling from the decree which limits the salaries of public sector leaders. This limit, set at 450,000 euros gross per year (37,500 euros per month) [par un décret de François Hollande, en 2012]already undergoes some derogations (at Orange or Air France-KLM, for example), but remains imposed for a respectable number of managers, among the most influential: La Poste, the Caisse des dépôts et consignations, the Public Investment Bank, Aéroports de Paris, Framatome, SNCF or France Télévisions, to name but a few.

The idea, widely conveyed, according to which it would be necessary to pay “at the market price”, that is to say with “packages” of 5 million to 15 million euros, the CEOs of the public sector in order to have the best worldwide is largely unfounded.

Why ? For the simple reason that there are, especially in our country, men and women who do not place personal enrichment above the desire to accede to high responsibilities and to serve. And among them, there are many who can be classified among the best world leaders.

Moreover, reversing the Hollande decree of July 2012 would send a very negative political signal, at a time when income and wealth inequalities are perceived, rightly or wrongly, as increasing. It is on this soil that prosper the extremist parties, generally beneficiaries of the protest votes.

Unworthy decline

The Pollen Think Tank [social-réformiste] accepts that necessary compromises are made with the real world, that is to say with the market economy. But this step back is useless and unworthy of a government that places the general interest among its primary values, just as it is unworthy of the foundations of the social democracy that we support.

Carlos Ghosn, former CEO of Renault, beneficiary of a double salary (with Nissan), amounting to twice 7 million to 8 million euros, with a surplus for Mitsubishi, not to mention the non-salary benefits he attributed to himself or was attributed, left a field of ruins after his departure, from which the group took several years to recover. He was no better car manager than others, only showing the ability to cost-killer [personne chargée de réduire les coûts dans une entreprise] – for others and not for him – as there are hundreds of them on the market.

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