France’s president Emanuel Macron and his new prime minister Michel Barnier are setting a record for unpopularity. The former garners only 25% of positive opinions and the latter 39%, according to a poll published today.

Only 25% of respondents think Emmanuel Macron is a good president, a record of seven years of unpopularity, according to a survey conducted for the television network and twenty local newspapers.

39% think Michel Barnier is a good prime minister, a very low performance compared to his predecessors during his first time in office (55% for Edouard Philippe in May 2017, 40% for Jean Castex in September 2020, 43% for Elizabeth Bourne in May 2022 and 48% for Gabriel Atal in January 2024).

“However, there is nothing personal” when it comes to Michel Barnier, according to analysts. “The French appreciate him as a human being” but do not consider him to have real power: 61% of respondents think “France will be governed by Emmanuel Macron” and only 38% think that role will be played by the prime minister.

Only 38% of the population will be in charge.
The poll was conducted on September 18 and 19, ahead of the announcement of the composition of the new government, the most right-wing government since 2017, and Macron’s assumption of the presidency.