People found out how much Francois Hollande's hairdresser makes and #coiffeurgate was born

The man who looks after the French president’s hair is paid a whopping 9,895 euros a month, it has emerged, after a newspaper made the claim on Wednesday.

Identified only as 'Olivier B', the barber began a five-year contract when Hollande took on his role in 2012 and is the official hairdresser of the Elysée, satirical French newspaper Le Canard Enchainé reported.

The publication cited Hollande’s lawyer Sarah Levy who also revealed that the hairdresser must be “available for the president 24/7”, and is sworn to secrecy over anything he may learn while at work.

French government speaker Stéphane Le Foll confirmed the salary during his weekly press briefing.

The news had people bristling over what was deemed extravagant spending by a socialist president, with Twitter users superimposing various dramatic hairstyles onto images of Hollande "to help his hairdresser earn his salary", along with the hashtag #Coffieurgate (#Hairdressergate).

9500 euros per month for that, how talented!

Olivier B reportedly looks after Hollande’s hair "every morning and as many times as is necessary, [and] ahead of every speech".

He also travels with Hollande during trips that last longer than a day.

A similar revelation was made in March when Vanity Fair reported that former French president Nicolas Sarkozy had a make-up artist who earned a net income of around 8,000 euros a month.

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