Carlos Tavares inadvertently united French President Emmanuel Macron and rival Marine Le Pen in opposition to his pay as CEO of Stellantis.
Macron criticized Tavares’ 2021 compensation package — worth more than $80 million, Reuters said — in a radio interview about a week ahead of France’s presidential election.
“We’re talking about astronomical sums here. … We should put a cap on these,” Macron said, according to Reuters.
Tavares: More than 80 million
“People can’t have purchasing power problems, difficulties and anxiety in their lives and see sums like this,” he added, or society will “blow up.”
Le Pen, Macron’s far-right challenger, called Tavares’ pay “shocking” in an interview with BFM TV.
“It’s even more shocking when it’s a CEO who has put the company in difficulty and gets considerable sums,” she said.
Stellantis, in a statement to Reuters, said it wouldn’t comment on politicians’ positions and that the company had gone from near bankruptcy to a leading position under Tavares.