As he strives to quell protests against his pension reform, French President Emmanuel Macron has stated that he is exploring methods to compel companies engaging in share buybacks to allocate a larger portion of their profits to their employees.

“There is a kind of cynicism at work when we have big businesses with such big revenues they can buy back their shares, so I’m going to ask the government to work on an exceptional contribution,” Macron said in a television interview Wednesday. “There is a feeling of injustice that I do hear.”

French President Emmanuel Macron has already taken steps to enhance profit sharing with workers, promising a “worker dividend” during his 2022 election campaign, Yahoo News reported.

Now, to achieve his latest objective, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has announced that the government intends to require companies conducting share buybacks to make greater use of the tax-free bonuses introduced by Macron in 2019, following the Yellow Vest protests against the high cost of living.

Additionally, they plan to implement profit-sharing formulas created by Charles de Gaulle.

Speaking to senators, Le Maire proposed that the amounts paid under these mechanisms be “substantial,” potentially even doubling in size. This new mandate will be presented for negotiation to both labor and business unions and will apply to firms with over 5,000 employees.

Written by staff