Faith in the French political system has completely collapsed according to an annual survey, which found staggering levels of dissatisfaction with the direction of the country and the establishment in Paris.
The latest ‘French Fractures’ survey by Ipsos for the Le Monde newspaper, conducted in the wake of the latest political crisis, which saw a third prime minister resign in under a year — before being convinced to retake his post for another round of budget negotiations — has found that nearly everyone in France is pessimistic about the their country.
According to the survey, a stunning 96 per cent of the public are either “dissatisfied or angry” about the current state of France. Additionally, 90 per cent of respondents said that they believe the country is in decline, up from 75 per cent in 2022.
Meanwhile, two-thirds said that they thought most politicians were corrupt, and 87 per cent said that politicians principally act in their own self interest rather than for the betterment of the country.
Le Monde noted that while the entire political class has lost standing in the eye of the public, perception of President Emmanuel Macron has declined the most of any major political figure, with 58 per cent of respondents saying they would like to see him resign, compared to 52 per cent in 2024’s survey.
While Macron has attempted to shift his focus away from the fractious domestic budget battles and instead devote energy to inserting himself into foreign affairs, such as the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, the poll found that 65 per cent of the French people do not trust him to protect the nation from becoming embroiled in war, which four in ten said was a significant risk.
There is also increasing support for Macron to dissolve the National Assembly and call for fresh legislative elections, with 43 per cent in favour, an increase of 12 points over last year. This sentiment was most prevalent among supporters of Marine Le Pen’s populist National Rally at 64 per cent, and supporters of the far-left La France Insoumise (France in Rebellion/LFI) party of Jean-Luc Mélenchon at 54 per cent.
It comes amid a growing sentiment among the public that the democratic system itself is failing to represent their views, including 93 per cent of National Rally voters, 85 per cent of LFI supporters, and 77 per cent of Socialist or Green voters.
This is likely in large part in reaction to last year’s legislative elections during which President Macron made a Machiavellian calculation to form an election alliance with the leftist New Popular Front in the second round of voting to block the rising National Rally from taking control of the parliament.
The move by Macron resulted in a three-way split in the National Assembly, effectively making governing impossible. Additionally, while the National Rally won the most votes and the NFP won the most seats, Macron has since selected three prime ministers from election-losing centrist parties, further fuelling political instability.
It is perhaps unsurprising then that there is also growing scepticism about democracy as a political system in France, with 42 per cent of under 35s saying that another political system could be as least as good as democracy. Additionally, 85 per cent were recorded as agreeing with the statement that “we need a real leader in France to restore order”.
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