Originally Posted by
Cupart
I can understand the frustration among the posters concerning the initial post, but I also sense a bit of envy. We don't know what deals were made upon him leaving AF and what his termination letter included of perks.
It could very well be like the bonus' being paid out to bankers/CEOs/VP's etc which we read about during the top of the recession (is it still on or off?) but what we didn't learn about were their legally biding contracts which gave them the right to get these payments (after all we live in a society where laws are respected - or at least should be respected).
One comment about his salary and him being able to pay for the tickets full price himself kind of struck me as odd, as anyone would try and get a good deal for as little as humanly possible no matter how much money one would have...
This said, I'm not defending any actions by Mr. PHG
I agree with you that jealousy and envy are widespread in France and explain many a public outcry. "Justice" is often understood as everybody having more or less the same result irrespective of prior effort, achievement and risk taken, not a remuneration that is in line with effort, achievement and risk taken. The current witch hunt against "the rich" and the financial communicy bears witness to that. Obviously with the wide-spread absurdity of not being applied to people where the mathematical ratio of "revenue/(IQ+responsibility)" is very high, such as football players. Also, I am all for the respect of contractual agreements.
But: whilst I am all against the trottoir running the economy I strongly do believe in responsibility by entrepreneurs and economic leaders. And in this particular case PHG has shown a striking lack of tact, responsibilily and leadership. Getting an exemption - i.e. something that is even beyond his already generous golden parachute - to use a fare that is being done away with for the rest of AF employees is just bad style. I do understand that he probably got it before the abandon of R1 fares was announced publicly, but then he should have reacted the moment AF restructuring plans were made public.
But then, in France it is quite common for the ruling elite to believe that they are a caste in their own right and have special rights. Just this weekend I had to explain to some people why the President of Germany stepped down: because he had received a free upgrade from Eco to Business on an Air Berlin flight to Florida, because he had received a loan from a friend who happens to be also a businessman, and because he left a message to the editor of the country's biggest newspaper asking him to further postpone an article about these things, thus infringing into press freedom. In France, any local politician would stage a scandal if he wasn't upgraded, Sarko's proximity and favours to business people is legendary (Bolloré's yacht etc.), and posts like the CEO of the country's biggest private TV station or some newspaper are staffed only after approval from the Elysée. What I want to say by this: PHG behaved perfectly in line with most other French leaders from the business and political community (who are often the same anyway).