The "sensitivity on the subject is strong" among small investors represented by Véronique Guisquet-Cordoliani, general secretary of the Federation of Individual Investors and Investment Clubs (F2iC) interviewed by AFP.

A boss of the CAC 40 was on average paid up to 5.9 million euros in 2021, against 4.8 million in 2020 (+ 23%), calculated the Observatory of multinationals.

That is about 80 times the median salary of the companies in question, according to data compiled by the firm Willis Towers Watson.

A theme all the more sensitive in times of high inflation, expected in France by INSEE at 5.4% over one year in June, when purchasing power is withering.

"The subject has been gaining weight for two years" within general meetings of shareholders, abounds Bénédicte Hautefort, co-founder of Scalens (ex-L'Hebdo des AG), specifying that more than one question asked in AG out of ten relates to this. above, a score considered significant.

And the resolutions pass less and less easily, she underlines, even if there are no "massive rejections" during the votes, except for rare cases.

Elior, M6 or even Vivendi had to be content this year with resolutions passed by less than 80% of the votes and the companies must "question the reasons for this reluctance", pleads Ms. Guisquet-Cordoliani.

Rigid rules... in France

Resolutions on salaries "are generally more contested than other subjects", observes Loïc Dessaint, of the consulting firm Proxinvest, calling in particular for a vote against the remuneration of the presidents of the board of directors of Société Générale, Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, and of BNP Paribas, Jean Lemierre, during their GA on Tuesday.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares (Peugeot-Citroën-Fiat), in front of the press during a trip to Douvrin, July 2, 2022 DENIS CHARLET AFP / Archives

In this matter, shareholders must decide on two points: the principles of executive compensation for the current year and, above all, the payment of bonuses for the previous year.

This vote has been binding since the entry into force in 2018 of the Sapin II law, at least in France.

If the managing director of Stellantis Carlos Tavares (Peugeot-Citroën-Fiat) can override the vote against by a majority of shareholders, it is because the company is based in the Netherlands.

His astronomical salary, 19 million euros, has also brought the F2iC out of its reserve, an extremely rare case.

The federation "does not give any voting instructions, but sometimes reacts when it finds aberrations", develops Ms. Guisquet-Cordoliani.

Emmanuel Macron had himself judged on April 15 this amount "shocking and excessive" at the microphone of Franceinfo.

- Environmental and governance criteria -

Votes against may also reflect a broader sense of mistrust by some shareholders with regard to governance.

AXA CEO Thomas Buberl in Paris on April 28, 2022 during the company's general meeting Eric PIERMONT AFP / Archives

Shareholders are asking for more transparency and explanations on the remuneration policy, explain to AFP the consultants of Willis Towers Watson, Gérald Joliy and Jérôme Rambaldi.

And the environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria "are now invited to the table", adds Franck Cheron of Deloitte.

According to the data he compiled, only 5% of the remuneration of the leaders of the SBF 120 index of the Paris Stock Exchange was indexed on ESG criteria before the Covid-19 crisis.

Since then, "a milestone has been reached", he continues, citing Axa as an example.

The insurer increased the weight of extra-financial indicators in the variable compensation of its manager to around 20%.

But that did not prevent a hiccup for Axa.

During a turbulent AGM at the end of April, the project to increase the CEO's remuneration was approved by 77.7% of voters, a score below the average - slightly higher, however, than in 2021.

The extra-financial dimension has also become essential for the Banque de France, which does not hesitate to vote against it if it is not sufficiently taken into account.

A fifth of the votes against by the French central bank last year concerned compensation issues.

© 2022 AFP