Chief executives at France’s CAC 40 blue-chip companies took home an average of €6.5 million (about $7.0 million) in 2024—down from the year before—yet pay inequality inside the group widened, with the median hitting its highest level since 1999.
That’s the central finding of the latest annual pay barometer from Proxinvest, a firm that tracks corporate governance and executive compensation. The report paints a split-screen picture: the average fell in 2024, but the midpoint of the pay distribution climbed, meaning the “typical” CAC 40 boss earned more even as a handful of blockbuster packages shifted.
Proxinvest’s breakdown also shows how these multimillion-euro totals are built. CAC 40 leaders generally receive a fixed salary, an annual performance-linked bonus, and share-based compensation calculated over three years. Across the index, the average fixed component is €1.4 million (about $1.5 million). Annual bonuses are capped, on average, at 186% of base pay, while medium-term equity incentives can reach up to 285% of base—unless the cap is set in number of shares rather than value, a structure that benefits executives when the stock price rises.
Average pay fell 9%, while the median hit a record
Proxinvest put average total compensation for CAC 40 bosses at €6.5 million (about $7.0 million) in 2024, a 9% drop from 2023. But the median rose 5% to roughly €5.6 million (about $6.0 million), the highest level since Proxinvest first published the report in 1999. In practical terms, that means half of CAC 40 leaders earned more than €5.6 million (about $6.0 million) last year.
That combination—lower average, higher median—signals a specific dynamic: a small number of exceptionally large pay packages can swing the average when they shrink, even as the middle of the pack continues to move up. The result is wider gaps between the highest- and lowest-paid executives, even if the overall total contracts.
| Indicateur | Montant 2024 | Évolution vs 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Rémunération moyenne | 6,5 millions d’euros | -9 % |
| Rémunération médiane | 5,6 millions d’euros | +5 % |
| Part fixe moyenne (CAC 40) | 1,4 million d’euros | n.d. |
Source : La Tribune / Proxinvest
EssilorLuxottica’s Francesco Milleri topped the 2024 pay ranking
Francesco Milleri, CEO of EssilorLuxottica, led the 2024 ranking with total compensation of €23.1 million (about $25.0 million), more than double what he received in 2023. He was followed by Cyrille Bolloré of the Bolloré Group at €15.7 million (about $17.0 million) and Pascal Daloz—CEO of Dassault Systèmes since January 2024—at €15.5 million (about $16.7 million).
The reshuffled top tier helps explain why the overall average declined: some of the extreme highs seen in 2023 did not repeat, even as new entrants or sitting executives posted record years.
| Dirigeant | Entreprise | Rémunération totale |
|---|---|---|
| Francesco Milleri | EssilorLuxottica | 23,1 millions d’euros |
| Cyrille Bolloré | Groupe Bolloré | 15,7 millions d’euros |
| Pascal Daloz | Dassault Systèmes | 15,5 millions d’euros |
Source : La Tribune / Proxinvest
Pourquoi les écarts de salaires au CAC 40 s'élargissent
Several companies raised CEOs’ base pay for 2025
Beyond swings driven by bonuses and stock awards, base salaries are also moving. Six CAC 40 companies raised fixed pay for 2025: Pernod Ricard (+6%), Sanofi (+14.3%), L’Oréal (+15%), Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (+20%) and BNP Paribas (+25%). The report also cites Valeo—outside the CAC 40—at +12.8%.
BNP Paribas, for example, lifted base pay to €2.3 million (about $2.5 million), while Société Générale held its base at €1.65 million (about $1.8 million) and Crédit Agricole at €1.1 million (about $1.2 million). In banking, regulation caps variable pay at 200% of base salary to avoid encouraging excessive risk-taking. That leaves base pay as the main lever for growth, helping explain some of the sharper increases.
CEOs earned more than 110 times the average worker—yet far less than private equity
The pay gap between CAC 40 bosses and their employees remains stark: Proxinvest says top executives in the index make more than 110 times the average employee salary. At the other end of the scale, leaders of major state-owned companies are capped at €450,000 a year (about $486,000) under a decree dating to 2012.
Even so, the report argues these packages sit well below what private equity funds offer for comparable profiles. Jean de Calbiac, a partner at Alva Avocats who advises several CAC 40 executives, put it this way: “If they went to work in private equity, it might be less prestigious, but they would earn a much better living and be far less exposed to criticism.”
From 2011 to 2024, a long-term climb despite annual swings
Over a longer horizon, the direction is clear. In 2011, average pay for a CAC 40 boss was €4.2 million (about $4.5 million), according to Le Figaro. By 2024, it had reached €6.5 million (about $7.0 million)—an increase of more than 54% over 13 years, despite year-to-year volatility.
The median at €5.6 million (about $6.0 million), the highest since 1999, suggests the trend is not limited to a few outliers. It reflects a broader rise across the leadership ranks of France’s flagship stock index, the CAC 40—roughly comparable to the role the Dow or S&P 500 plays in the U.S. market conversation.
