Sanofi's golden handshake for new chief Olivier Brandicourt under fire

The proposed bonus for Olivier Brandicourt, the new chief executive of Sanofi (Euronext: SAN) has drawn criticism from government and trade unions.

Dr Brandicourt is set to receive a golden handshake of 4 million euros ($4.6 million), with 2 million euros upon taking up the post in April, and an additional 2 million in January 2016. The company said he would be paid a fixed salary of 1.2 million euros a year plus a performance-related amount targeted at 150% of his salary with a cap at 250%.

Reuters reported that Stéphane Le Foll, a government spokesperson, spoke out against Brandicourt “being assured of an incommensurate remuneration without even having taken the head of the company,” while Ségolène Royal, the minister for energy and the environment, called the bonus “not at all normal,” and appealed to “decency.”