The French public continues to sour on President Emmanuel Macron, whose popularity has fallen to a record low as the race to replace him in the Élysée Palace is starting to ramp up.
The latest survey from Ipsos bva-CESI has found that President Macron’s popularity rating in France stands at just 16 per cent, a new record low after falling from 21 per cent in July, Le Figaro reported.
Even among supporters of Macron’s centrist governing bloc — the Horizons, Modem, and Renaissance parties — only 53 per cent still have a favourable view of the president.
The picture is similarly bleak for Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who only 20 per cent of the public have a favourable opinion of, down from 27 per cent in July.
All government ministers are currently underwater in the polls, with Minister of Justice Gérald Darmanin leading the pack at just 38 per cent popularity, followed by Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez at 25 per cent, and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot at 12 per cent.
With just over seven months until French voters head to the polls to select their next president, with Macron being prevented from running again by term limits, the unpopularity of the governing coalition may represent a drag for those seeking to pick up the neo-liberal, globalist mantle, such as former prime ministers Gabriel Attal and Édouard Philippe.
According to the Ipsos survey, the French public does not appear satisfied with the current crop of candidates vying to become the next President of the Republic.
The pollster found that this is true of “declared candidates from all sides”. However, the poll found that voters would be the least satisfied with the election of far-left La France Insoumise (France in Rebellion/LFI) leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon at 70 per cent dissatisfaction.
This was followed by 61 per cent for Green party leader Marine Tondelier and 60 per cent for liberal former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal at 60 per cent.
Former PM and current Mayor of Le Havre, Édouard Philippe, who has been hailed as the best hope for the liberal-centrist bloc to retain power, has seen his negative rating soar by 12 points since July to 57 per cent, while his support has declined by 4 points to 19 per cent.
Even though a slight majority, 52 per cent, said they would be dissatisfied with the election of National Rally leader Marine Le Pen, she fares better than all other candidates currently in the field.
This broadly aligns with other recent polling, which has consistently found that the anti-mass-migration leader is on pace to win both rounds of France’s presidential election next April.
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