President Macron's payslip published: how does it compare with Joe Biden's? 

The payslip of French President Emmanuel Macron has been published as a demonstration of transparency – after a former journalist and a researcher made a public request to see it.

Presidential pay used to be secret but was first published first by Nicolas Sarkozy, who earned €21,300 a month. This sum was cut by 30% by the socialist François Hollande.

President Macron’s payslip shows a gross salary of €16,039 in the first month of 2024, which is reduced to €14,586 once social security and other contributions are taken off.

French media noted that this is less than his German counterpart Olaf Scholz, and half of what US President Joe Biden earns. In the US, the presidential salary is currently capped at €400,000 per year, and has been since 2001.

The presidential payslip is not free from the oddities which creep into most French payslips. One of the lines detailing the gross salary includes a bonus for special expertise, exposure or performance.

Read more: What is average salary in France? How does it compare with US or UK?

Extra details

And there was no line for a deduction for contributions to unions and other bodies which negotiate pay because, as the media explained, it is not possible to form one if you work alone. And there was no mention of hours worked, other than that the president was full-time.

Although landlords and banks often ask to see payslips as a condition of renting out property or granting loans, they are not public documents and should be treated with care.

An indication of their delicate nature is the fact that employers cannot make mention of any strike days on the payslip, or the sums paid by works committee personnel for attending meetings. These have to be detailed on a separate annex to the payslip.