On Tuesday, a poll by the Odoxa polling group indicated that French President Emmanuel Macron’s personal ratings were approaching their lowest recorded level due to his handling of pension reform and protests. Only 30 percent of respondents thought he was a “good” president, down by six percentage points in a month, while 70 percent judged him negatively. The survey, carried out for the Public Senat channel and regional newspapers, showed falls for most of the French political class amid increasingly violent protests against the government’s bid to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen saw her favourability rating slump three percentage points to 32 percent, but the country’s most popular political figure, Macron’s first prime minister Edouard Philippe, skidded by seven points to 34 percent. Odoxa said, “If Edouard Philippe falls again next month, it’s likely that for the first time in the history of our political trackers (meaning six or seven decades), we would have someone from the far-right at the head of our table.”
The survey showed that 71 percent of respondents favoured a referendum on raising the pension age, and 67 percent would vote against it, with opposition to the move relatively stable since the start of the year.
Rubbish on streets
The streets of Paris are filling up with rubbish as refuse collectors are on strike and protesters are blocking ports and refineries, resulting in a slump in Macron’s ratings, as confirmed by other surveys.
Trade unions have organised 10 days of national strikes and protests since the beginning of the year.
On Monday, the BVA group published a poll showing that 28 percent of people had a positive view of the president, the lowest level since November 2018.
The Ifop group published a tracking poll on March 19, which revealed that 28 percent of respondents were “satisfied” with the president, not far off the low of 23 percent reached during the “Yellow Vest” crisis.
Despite being at these low levels, Macron still enjoys more popularity than his predecessor Francois Hollande during his time in office.
Hollande, a Socialist, reached historic depths with a four percent approval rating after the publication of a disastrous tell-all book that ended his hopes of seeking re-election. Like his highly contested predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, Hollande has bounced back since leaving office and now figures among the most-liked political figures in France.