PARIS — As if the threat of terrorism, the aftermath of Brexit and dwindling popularity ratings weren’t enough, French President François Hollande is grappling with another headache: his hairstylist's excessive salary.
The Socialist leader's personal stylist earned $11,000 a month, the investigative weekly newspaper, Le Canard Enchainé, revealed this week. That salary is on par with Cabinet ministers and a third less than the president’s take-home pay. Per capita income in France is less than $3,500 a month.
The newspaper obtained a copy of the hairstylist’s five-year contract, which began in 2012 with the start of Hollande’s tenure. By 2017, the French presidency will have shelled out a total of $657,582 on hair grooming, excluding housing allowances and unspecified “family benefits.”
For comparison, then-President Bill Clinton’s much maligned haircut on the runway at the Los Angeles airport that delayed flights in 1993 cost $200. Two haircuts that former North Carolina senator John Edwards embarrassingly charged his presidential campaign in 2007 cost $800. He reimbursed his campaign.
French government spokesman Stéphane Le Foll confirmed the newspaper's report Wednesday and struggled to hide his embarrassment as he justified the high pay, pointing out the hairstylist has to be on call at all times.
“Everyone has their hair done, don’t they?” Le Foll said, tossing his trademark thick mane of silver hair.
The hairdresser, identified by the media only as Olivier B., 46, coifs the president's hair every morning and before any public appearance, including weekends and foreign trips.
According to Olivier B.’s lawyer, Sarah Levy, the cosmetologist was forced to close his Paris salon to be available for Hollande.
“He has never asked to be replaced and has missed the birth of his children,” the lawyer said.
The hairdresser is bound by a confidentiality agreement and has been sworn to secrecy about any presidential hair issues once his contract ends next year, when Hollande faces re-election.
Hollande's former girlfriend, journalist Valerie Trierweiler, tweeted in his defense. “Let’s be fair: François Hollande wasn’t aware of the salary of his hairdresser,” Trierweiler wrote. “I can confirm he was upset when he found out.”
Many French taxpayers were aghast.
“It’s insane! I would have to work 10 months to make what this guy earns in a month,” said Seynabou Fati, 19, a university student with a summer job as a supermarket cashier to help pay for her studies.
Hairdresser Fanny Barka, 63, was also outraged, given that “men need just a monthly trim to look groomed.”
But Barka sided with her lucky colleague for seizing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “You don’t make that kind of money even if you own your own salon,” she said. “I am sure he will easily find another job once his contract ends.”
Others on social media mocked the president’s extravagance by pasting mullets, 18th-century wigs and even Donald Trump’s hairdo on pictures of Hollande’s receding hairline, using the hashtag #Coiffeurgate.
One Twitter user lampooned Hollande with the longtime slogan of French cosmetics and hair color company L’Oréal: “Because I am worth it.”
