PARIS, Nov 18, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The popularity of French President
Emmanuel Macron has dropped to just 25 percent, according to a major tracker
poll published on Sunday.
The poll by research group Ifop was published in the Journal du Dimanche a
day after a nationwide “yellow vest” protest against high fuel prices that
analysts say has come to represent widespread frustration with the 40-year-
old president.
The results of the widely watched poll showed an overall fall of four
points in November from the previous month, with only four percent of
respondents saying they were “very satisfied” with Macron’s performance,
while 21 percent were “mostly satisfied”.
Thirty-four percent were “mostly dissatisfied” while 39 percent were “very
dissatisfied”, according to the poll.
The survey was conducted between November 9-17 on 1,957 people.
The results reinforce a longer-term trend of French voters turning quickly
on their presidents soon after their election — something which also
happened to Macron’s predecessors Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy.
Macron’s latest dip still has him higher than Hollande’s 20 percent at the
same time of his term, while Sarkozy had a rating of 44 percent.
Nearly 283,000 people took part in protests on Sunday that channelled
anger at Macron, a former investment banker who has pushed through a series
of reforms aimed at bolstering economic growth.
The “yellow vest” movement enjoyed much more public support than others
against Macron since he swept to the presidency last year.