New French Cabinet Takes 30% Pay Cut
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Acting on his campaign promise, newly elected president Francois Hollande and his ministers have agreed to take a 30 percent pay cut in order to “lead by example”. Under the new decree, Hollande will see his monthly salary reduced from 21,300 to 14,910 euros.
The symbolic gesture of sacrifice and shared responsibility, the pay cut sharply contrasts with predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy’s decision to increase his pay on entering office.
After he took office in 2007, Sarkozy’s salary increased by 170 percent to 19,000 euros per month ($24,097).
Acting on his campaign promise, newly elected president Francois Hollande and his ministers have agreed to take a 30 percent pay cut in order to “lead by example”. Under the new decree, Hollande will see his monthly salary reduced from 21,300 to 14,910 euros.
The symbolic gesture of sacrifice and shared responsibility, the pay cut sharply contrasts with predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy’s decision to increase his pay on entering office.
After he took office in 2007, Sarkozy’s salary increased by 170 percent to 19,000 euros per month ($24,097).
Related News: Sarkozy’s Spends $16,000 A Day On Food, Total Annual Expenditure: $150 Million
Yesterday, Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault presented a decree to cut the gross salary of cabinet ministers by 30 percent to 9,940 euros a month. Junior minister pay will also fall by 30 percent, to 9,443 euros a month.
As Ayrault’s own pay and that of Hollande cannot be changed by decree, a law will be passed when parliament reconvenes, retroactively lowering their monthly salary to almost 15,000 euros.
Women’s rights minister, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, said:
[quote] We are here not only to manage the country, but to reform it, to overcome privileges and to improve the lives of the French people. [/quote]
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At the same time, new finance minister Pierre Moscovici said that France will not ratify the European treaty on fiscal discipline unless it is amended to include ambitious commitments to promote economic growth.
During his campaign, Hollande had said the treaty focuses too much on spending cuts that are stifling growth and making the debt crisis worse, and had argued for stimulus spending as well.
Moscovici added:
[quote] A country that is indebted is a country that grows poorer. But responsibility and growth are not mutually exclusive (…) What we are saying is that we must take the construction of Europe in a new direction, not to shrug off budgetary responsibility. [/quote]
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