French boss gives 600 staff shares worth €3,000 each

The founder of a successful French air-quality monitoring company is celebrating 40 years in business by giving every one of his 600 staff 40 free shares worth about €3,000.

François Gourdon, the 70-year-old founding chairman of Environnement SA, surprised staff with the news of the gift, which will cost about €2million at a 40th anniversary party at a club near Place de la Concorde on Thursday, reports Le Parisien.

Staff based at head office in Yvelines, as well as India, the UK, US and China are all set to benefit.

The company produces monitoring stations capable of detecting particles in ambient air, gas emissions or dioxin levels around incinerators, thermal power plants or chemical sites. Its next big contract is to supply monitoring stations in Qatar, which will host the 2022 football World Cup.

From July 1, the name of the company will change to Envea, nearly 40 years to the day after it was founded with just three employees.