Brexit Francois Hollande
French President Francois Hollande's perfectly groomed coiffure. Stephane Mahe/ Reuters

French President François Hollande's perfectly groomed coiffure has come under social media scrutiny and it has not been pleasant. His barber bill purportedly costs the taxpayer almost €10,000 a month, which the government insists is "reasonable".

Spokesman Stephane Le Foll confirmed that Hollande's hairdresser is paid €9,985 per month. Insisting that the expenditure was reasonable, he said: "I can understand the questions. I can understand that there are judgements. Everyone gets haircuts. This hairdresser had to abandon his salon and he's on tap 24 hours a day."

More about France

Satirical newspaper Le Canard Enchaine first unveiled the president's coiffure bill and identified the hairdresser as Olivier B. The newspaper says that the hairdresser travels with Hollande on most of his foreign trips.

While other high profile male politicians like former London mayor and now newly-appointed Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and US presidential candidate Donald Trump, have recently had their hair or hairstyles scrutinised in social media, this is the first time that Hollande has come under such scrutiny, notes AFP.

Canard Enchaine claims that in addition to his salary, the hairdresser is entitled to a housing allowance and other "family benefits." He has been in the President's service since 2012, when Hollande was elected into office.

However Le Foll said that the operational budget of the Presidential Elysee Palace was cut by 15-20% after Hollande took over from Nicolas Sarkozy in 2012.

According to the French news agency, Hollande has always portrayed himself as Mr Normal, on contrast to his predecessor Sarkozy who was often dubbed President Bling Bling due to his flashy lifestyle.

Hollande who earns €14,900 a month, has seen his popularity rating at its lowest levels ever seen in modern French history, driven by a series of political and personal scandals and a moribund economy and unemployment levels, AFP notes.

Social media users used the hashtag #CoiffeurGate to post pictures of Holland with hairstyles photoshopped on him which they considered more worthy of the €10,000 price tag. And some of them were quite amusing.

And naturally, there had to be one with Donald Trump's hairstyle superimposed on Hollande.

And there were some tweeters who thought perhaps a bald look may save taxpayers money.

And of course, there are those who question the hairdresser's abilities.