This Friday, December 13, Emmanuel Macron appointed François Bayrou as the new Prime Minister to succeed Michel Barnier. According to the latest Elabe poll for BFMTV, the French are mixed by the ability of the new tenant of Matignon to bring political stability to the country.
The day after the appointment of François Bayrou as new Prime Minister, the French seem generally mixed. A live L'Opinion poll carried out by the Elabe institute for BFMTV reveals this Saturday, December 14 that 67% of French people do not believe in a return to political stability with the future government.
Out of a sample of 1,009 people questioned, 40% see the arrival of François Bayrou as a “bad thing”, while 31% consider it on the contrary to be a “good thing” (29% say they have no opinion).
In the political spectrum, the appointment of François Bayrou is fairly well received by Ensemble voters (63%), but criticized by the National Rally (56%) and the New Popular Front (51%). Republican voters remain rather divided (38% think it is a “good thing” and 38% a “bad thing”).
A man of compromise?
After the fall of the Barnier government overthrown by a motion of censure, the French are divided on the new Prime Minister's ability to bring together and find compromises with other political forces.
52% of French people believe that the Bayrou government will not succeed in reaching consensus with the oppositions, while 47% think on the contrary that it will succeed. In comparison, the forecast for an agreement is 5 points lower than for the appointment of Michel Barnier.
But a new question now arises: will François Bayrou make a change in method compared to his predecessors? For 3 out of 4 French people (73%), the Bayrou government will not mark a change in style compared to the previous governments of Emmanuel Macron. This observation is also shared by a majority within all electorates, apart from that of Ensemble which remains divided (47% think that there will be no change of method with the government and 53% believe that there will be will have one).
François Bayrou appointed Prime Minister
Pending a new political course, a narrow majority of French people portray François Bayrou as a man capable of making compromises (54%) and sympathetic (52%). Some French people also consider him to be attentive (48%), competent (47%) and courageous (47%). On the other hand, only 33% believe that he is capable of reforming the country.
To avoid a new motion of censure, 2 out of 3 French people (63%) think that François Bayrou should accept the non-censorship proposal of the Socialist Party (PS) in exchange for the commitment to renounce the use of 49- 3.
The French in favor of a government resulting from civil society
Concerning the composition of the future government, a majority of French people would be in favor of figures from civil society (74%), Republicans (54%) and the Socialist Party (54%). 48% would approve of the appointment of personalities from the Ecologists, 44% from the presidential camp and 36% from the Communist Party.
In the eyes of the French, the new Prime Minister is considered more of a man of the center (46%). If each electorate places the majority in this political space, 12% place it on the right, 4% on the left and 16% think that it is neither left nor right (22% have no opinion on the subject).
Finally, among the French's priorities for action, purchasing power remains at the top (55%). Concern about public debt has increased by 7 points in three months and is now in 2nd position (34%). It is ahead of health (30%), security (26%) and immigration (24%).
Sample of 1,009 people representative of residents of mainland France aged 18 and over. The representativeness of the sample was ensured according to the quota method applied to the following variables: sex, age and profession of the interviewee after stratification by region and category of agglomeration. Internet interview on December 13, 2024.
