Amid bodyguard crisis, mixed bag for Macron in poll ratings
PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron’s popularity slid to a fresh low following a scandal surrounding his former senior bodyguard, according to a wide-ranging survey, countering a less damaging picture painted by other polls.
Macron, who came to power just over a year ago on an economic reform platform, has been mired in a furore involving his former senior bodyguard, who was caught on camera assaulting a May Day protestor while off duty and wearing police gear.
Alexandre Benalla, the former head of Macron’s security detail, was fired last week but opposition leaders criticised the government’s reaction as too slow and took aim at Macron’s refusal to comment on the incident for several days.
An Ifop survey of nearly 2,000 people, published in the French weekly newspaper Journal du Dimanche, found Macron’s popularity had slipped one percentage point from a month earlier to a new low of 39 per cent in July. — AFP