After the appointment of Michel Barnier, Emmanuel Macron’s popularity declines

POLITICS – At its lowest level in a year. While the French consider that the formation of the government does not reflect the results of the legislative elections, they seem to hold it against the main person responsible: Emmanuel Macron. According to the latest barometer carried out by YouGov for Le HuffPostthe first since the installation in Matignon of Michel Barnier, the rating of the Head of State drops by three points compared to the month of August and the trompe-l’oeil improvement of the Olympic Games. More annoying for the tenant of the Élysée, with only 22% favorable opinions, it records its lowest score since October 2023.

A figure which shows that neither the appointment of a new government nor a distancing from the national scene has allowed it to recover. Note also that the choice of appointing a Prime Minister from the Republicans did not allow Emmanuel Macron to significantly appeal to the right: only 45% of LR voters judge the action of the head of state favorably. As a result, the President of the Republic is now only four points away from his unpopularity record (18% favorable opinions) recorded at the height of the yellow vest crisis in December 2018.

Barnier, motion of no confidence

The situation is not really better for Michel Barnier. Just a few days after taking office, the new Prime Minister is not in any state of favor with public opinion. With 24% favorable opinions, the head of government is starting (very) slowly, and above all very far from what his predecessor Gabriel Attal observed at the time of his appointment. “ Indeed, the former Prime Minister had 13 points more favorable opinions than Michel Barnier last January, with 37% favorable opinions », recalls YouGov.

Even within his political party, the Savoyard is struggling to fill up. He received only 57% of favorable opinions among LR voters, which appeared shortly after the unexpected victory that his nomination constituted in view of the low score achieved by the right-wing party in the legislative elections. Alongside them, supporters of the presidential camp are the only ones to have, for the most part, a positive view of Michel Barnier, at 55%. Proof that the French are waiting for the Prime Minister around the corner.

This is also observed in the way respondents view the government: 62% of them express a negative judgment towards the new executive. To the question: “dWould you say that the government has good or bad management of the economy? », 76% of those questioned answered in the negative. A real challenge for Michel Barnier, whose first mission is to confront the wall of debt, even if it means taking unpopular measures, such as postponing the indexation of pensions to inflation. The French, who continue to place purchasing power at the top of their concerns, are therefore observing the Prime Minister’s first steps at Matignon with distrust. It’s up to him to change their minds.

The survey was carried out on 1,000 people representative of the French national population aged 18 and over. The survey was carried out online, on the YouGov France proprietary panel, from October 1 to 3, 2024.

Also see on Le HuffPost :