Macron's step faced mixed reactions among the opposition.
"It's unbearable. Only big people, very rich people can afford this kind of liberality", Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of La France Insoumise party, said.
Speaking at BFM TV channel, Mélenchon denounced Macron's gesture, saying that the President can do without his €6,000 pension.
"But most people cannot afford it. […] What does it mean? I'm giving up my retirement pension, therefore you could give it up too".
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, leader of the right-wing Debout la France Party, also criticised Macron's decision, saying that it's just another "publicity stunt".
Talking to Sputnik, left-wing politician Gérard Filoche said that the President's gesture is first in a series of similar steps.
"Soon, Bernard Arnault will announce that he gives up his restaurant tickets, Carlos Ghosn will give up his house in Rio, and so on", the former labour inspector quipped.
Filoche is sure that "when the time comes to retire, he will have certainly changed his mind". Besides, the politician believes that Macron's symbolic gesture "has no chance of calming public opinion".
The Élysée Palace confirmed on 21 December that Emmanuel Macron gave up his future pension of €6,220 gross monthly as a former president, thus becoming France's first president to do so. Emmanuel Macron also decided not to sit on the Constitutional Council – the office that is granted to every former French president, with a salary of €13,500.
