It is a lifestyle that could create some tensions, three days before the opening of the Agricultural Show, devoted in part to the low income of the agricultural world. Mediapart reveals that the remuneration of executives of the FNSEA (National Federation of Farmers' Unions) has increased sharply in recent years, from 5 to 30% since 2019, depending on the case. The new CEO Clément Faurax (appointed in April 2019), for example, received a 22% bonus. He thus receives 13,400 euros gross monthly, or some 3,000 euros more than the current Minister of Agriculture Didier Guillaume, according to Mediapart, who recalls that most of the federation's resources come from membership fees.
Part time at 14,900 euros gross monthly
The former general director of the FNSEA, Catherine Lion, who received 14,800 euros gross monthly in post, saw her remuneration significantly increase when she became a part-time adviser to the Federation. For three days of work per week, she therefore received, between April and September 2019, 14,900 euros gross monthly - including 6,000 euros in "monthly premium", the equivalent of what an average farmer receives over a whole year, calculated Mediapart. Retiring on October 1, 2019, Catherine Lion will receive her allowances and a "bonus equivalent to six months' salary", for a total of 146,300 euros. From then on the former general manager, still a part-time employee of the union, reached thanks to the cumulative salary and retirement "more than 12,500 euros per month", ensures Mediapart .
Salaries "in the grid of what is done" for the FNSEA
Faced with his revelations, the director general of the FNSEA Clément Faurax admits to the news site that the wages mentioned are "extremely high" while recalling that they "are in the grid of what is done in the sector of professional organizations of the importance of the FNSEA ". And to conclude: "What matters to us is the added value brought to the farmer. Our daily action is to be effective so that the farmer gets out of it as best as possible."