This is the norm for a Prime Minister of Emmanuel Macron. No matter if Michel Barnier showed from the outset his independence of action vis-à-vis the head of state, his popularity rating deteriorated in just a few weeks. In our monthly barometer carried out by the Ipsos institute, the Savoyard has 46% unfavorable opinions among the French people surveyed on October 9 and 10. This is 13 points more than its share of favorable opinions, estimated at 33%. His base is solid among supporters of Les Républicains, the party from which he comes, but those in the central bloc are more divided. This shows how fragile his tenure at the head of the executive promises to be, with Parliament beginning this week to examine a 2025 budget made up of rigor and additional levies.
In his defense, Michel Barnier follows the same trajectory as all political staff. “ It’s an icy shower for everyone and the French are broodingsummarizes Brice Teinturier, Deputy Managing Director of Ipsos. All the personalities tested pay for their inability to find solutions for the population or to work together. » The phenomenon affects François Ruffin as well as Marine Le Pen, Édouard Philippe and Raphaël Glucksmann. The prize for the decline goes to Gabriel Attal and Bernard Cazeneuve. The first went from 31 to 23% satisfied, the second from 19 to 11%.
Ipsos survey for La Tribune Dimanche carried out on October 9 and 10, 2024 among a representative sample of the French population of 1,000 people aged 18 and over interviewed online using the quota method.
The RN will present its “counter-budget” on Wednesday, against the government’s “tax bludgeoning”
As for Emmanuel Macron, his decline only continues. Only 25% of French people surveyed support it. A level close to its low of 20%, reached during the era of the Yellow Vests. More alarming for him, it is in his own camp that support is crumbling: among supporters of Renaissance, MoDem and Horizons, he lost 13 points. For them, the post-Macron era has well and truly begun. “ Overall, the French believe that their representatives have failed, without preserving the various opponentsdevelops Brice Teinturier. What is happening around the budget sounds, in public opinion, like a massive disavowal of the policy pursued by Emmanuel Macron. It’s as if we realized that in our balance sheet, there is a huge hole, namely the debt, which we will have to resolve painfully because it was not dealt with before. »
The general pessimism of citizens has, as a result, made a spectacular jump. First, regarding the announced tax increases, 62% of French people surveyed anticipate that they will not only affect the wealthiest and large businesses, contrary to the commitments made by the executive. Since May, their concern about the country’s economic situation has increased from 72 to 86%. The deterioration is similar in the way the French perceive their own economic situation (59% “pessimists” in May, 70% today). “ They do not experience the current situation only as a “macro” problemwarns Brice Teinturier, but now tell themselves that they will personally have to suffer the consequences of bad decisions. »
* Compared to the September barometer. ** Tested for the first time in this barometer.
