The question of the salary of the president of the SPA regularly comes up in discussions about the management of major French associations. In 2024, no official document published by the Société Protectrice des Animaux mentions a salary amount attached to this position. The 2024 activity report of the SPA details the resources, shelters, and animals taken in, but remains silent on this specific point.
Volunteer President of the SPA: What Official Sources Say
In the public communication of the SPA, the role of president is explicitly presented as unpaid. During the general assembly in June 2025, a comment validated in the official Facebook discussion thread reminded that “a president of an association does not have a salary”.
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Jacques-Charles Fombonne, who held the presidency, was described as a volunteer living off his retirement as a general. This detail, shared on the association’s social media, implies the absence of any specific remuneration related to the role of president.
To delve deeper into the question of the salary amount of the SPA president, it is necessary to distinguish between two roles that the general public often confuses: the presidency (voluntary mandate) and the general management (paid position).
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Salary of the General Director of the SPA: Documented Figures
The confusion between president and general director has fueled controversy for several years. The amounts circulating in the press concern the general director, not the president elected by the board of directors.
L’Express published a salary of 110,000 euros gross annually accompanied by a variable part of at least 35,000 euros for the position of general director. Le Monde, in a 2019 investigation, mentioned a “golden salary” and a “record dismissal”, still referring to the general director.
These revelations sparked a debate about the financial management of charitable associations. The SPA, funded by donations and legacies, faces a demand for transparency that donors remind of at every general assembly.
Why This Confusion Persists
The president of the SPA is the media face of the association. He speaks during awareness campaigns, signs opinion pieces, and represents the organization to public authorities. The general director, on the other hand, manages the operations: budget, human resources, network of shelters.
When a user types “salary president SPA”, they often think of the highest-paid leader in the organization, without knowing that this role belongs to the paid general director and not the volunteer president.
Association Governance and Remuneration: The Legal Framework in France
French law allows, under strict conditions, the remuneration of leaders of associations recognized as being of public utility. The SPA falls into this category. The legal framework provides several safeguards:
- The annual resources of the association must exceed a threshold defined by the general tax code for a leader’s remuneration to be possible without compromising the selfless nature of the management.
- The decision to pay a leader must be voted on in a general assembly, with transparency regarding the amount and the criteria used.
- The number of paid leaders is capped based on the level of resources of the association.
In the case of the SPA, the president is not compensated for his mandate. The available data does not allow for a conclusion about the existence of any indirect financial advantage related to this role.
Financial Transparency of the SPA: What the 2024 Activity Report Reveals
The 2024 activity report of the SPA, published in June 2025, details the 2030 strategy, governance, the network of shelters, and key figures for the year. It dedicates a section to “transparency and ethics” as well as “human resources”.
However, no remuneration table for the leaders is included. The report mentions funding levers, animal protection actions, the fight against mistreatment, but not the individual salaries of the executive leaders.
This absence is not unique to the SPA. The majority of large French associations do not publish the details of remunerations in their annual report, even when they communicate about their certified accounts.
What Donors Can Verify
The annual accounts of associations recognized as being of public utility are filed with the prefecture and are accessible for consultation. Donors can also refer to analyses from independent control bodies that evaluate the use of collected funds.
- Accounts certified by a statutory auditor are a legal obligation for associations exceeding a certain level of resources.
- The ratio between operating expenses and social missions provides an indicator of good management, even without knowing each individual salary.
- The minutes of the general assembly, accessible to members, may contain information about remuneration decisions voted on.
The debate about the salary of the president of the SPA largely rests on a confusion of roles. The elected president serves in a volunteer capacity. The general director receives a salary documented by the press, with a fixed and variable component that has sparked controversy. For 2024, no public source alters this finding: the president of the SPA does not receive a salary related to his mandate.