Mixed bag for Macron in opinion surveys

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron’s popularity slid to a fresh low following a scandal surrounding his former senior bodyguard, according to a wideranging survey yesterday, countering a less damaging picture painted by other polls.

Mr 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 protester while off duty and wearing police gear.

Alexandre Benalla, the former head of Mr Macron’s security detail, was fired last week but opposition leaders criticised the government’s reaction as too slow and took aim at Mr 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 yesterday found Mr Macron’s popularity had slipped one percentage point from a month earlier to a new low of 39% in July.

The poll showed a clear shift in opinion before and after the Benalla footage came to light on July 19, with the president’s ratings falling later in the month.

Yet another survey on Saturday was more favourable to the 40-year-old former investment banker, whose popularity had taken a knock in recent months as critics described him as out of touch over policies seen as favouring the rich.

That Harris Interactive poll showed Mr Macron’s ratings improving slightly in July, a month that was also marked by France’s World Cup soccer victory.

The Benalla scandal is set to get another airing this week after the opposition conservative party presented a motion of noconfidence in the government.

It is very unlikely to succeed, as lawmakers from Mr Macron’s party have a solid majority in the lower house.