French voters ‘unhappy’

PARIS: Sixty percent of French voters are unhappy with President Emmanuel Macron, a survey said yesterday, with strikes and protests growing as the ambitious young reformer prepares to mark a year in office. Some 58 percent of people declared themselves dissatisfied with the 40-year-old, who has sparked anger among some groups by announcing reforms to everything from the courts and education system to the national rail operator. The Ifop-Fiducial poll was broadly in line with other surveys showing an approval rate at around 40 percent almost a year after Macron swept to power last May at the head of a new centrist party. A majority - 57 percentagreed Macron was keeping his electoral promises after a campaign in which the political upstart pledged to slim down the state and make France more competitive.