According to a BVA poll for RTL, only 28% of French people have a good opinion of the head of state, perceived as the main person responsible for pension reform. Its popularity is approaching its lowest level (26%), reached in the midst of the yellow vests crisis.
“If it is necessary to endorse the unpopularity of the country, I will endorse it”. This is what Emmanuel Macron declared last Wednesday, during a television interview which marked his first public intervention on the pension reform since January. The President of the Republic did not think so well.
Determined to bring this bill to fruition, despite a strong rejection of public opinion and major social mobilizations, the head of state is not very popular with the French.
According to a survey BVA made for RTL between March 24 and 25, only 28% of respondents say they have a good opinion of him. That is a fall of 6 points in one month. Above all, Emmanuel Macron is approaching the lowest level he had reached (26%) in the midst of the yellow vests crisis in November 2018.
Reform supporters changed their minds
Elisabeth Borne’s popularity rating also reached 28%, the lowest rate since her appointment to Matignon, but the drop, of two points compared to last month, is much less marked than for the head of the State. The latter is perceived as the main responsible for the situation, while the Prime Minister is judged “at the boot of Emmanuel Macron” by public opinion.
This survey also confirms the trends observed since the start of this pension reform sequence. First, the majority of French people are against this bill. 70% do not want it to be promulgated or applied. Then, the social movement always has the assent of public opinion. 64% of respondents support the mobilization.
Finally, the executive still fails to convince. It’s even the opposite. He is losing supporters. According to the BVA poll, 34% of respondents who wanted the reform to be applied are now against its implementation. So many ways to measure the weight of the words spoken by Emmanuel Macron last Wednesday.
