President Emmanuel Macron’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest level in years, French business daily Les Echos reported on Thursday, citing opinion poll results. The survey was carried out after Macron dissolved the national parliament and called a snap vote following his party’s defeat in the European Parliament elections.
The poll, conducted for Les Echos by French research firm Elabe, found that Macron’s approval rating has reached a low not seen during his the start of his second five-year term in May 2022, the publication noted. Approval for the president suffered a drop of five points, falling to 24%.
Macron’s rating was only lower, at 23%, during the ‘Yellow Vest’ crisis in December 2018, Les Echos added. Named after the safety vests worn by protesters, the movement was triggered by Macron’s green tax on fuel and led to months of demonstrations and riots around France.
The pollster surveyed 1,502 adults online on Tuesday and Wednesday. The head of state’s approval rating fell by 12 points to 33% among executives, by two points to 20% among intermediate professions, and by four points to 26% among retirees.
“It is no surprise after an electoral failure of this magnitude,” the research firm’s president, Bernard Sananes, told Les Echos.
“This shows that economic issues remain significant… There is also concern about the instability that Emmanuel Macron himself caused with the dissolution,” he added.
Macron dissolved the National Assembly on Sunday and announced snap elections for France’s lower house of parliament, which will be conducted in two rounds on June 30 and July 7.
The move came in response to the overwhelming victory of right-wing candidates in the European Parliament elections earlier this month. The National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen, won 31% of the vote – more than double the share of the president’s Renaissance party, at 14.6%.
The vote will allow a “clarification” of France’s political landscape, Macron argued in a televised address on Sunday.
According to Bloomberg, the poll result published by Les Echos indicates “an increased likelihood” that Le Pen’s National Rally will come first in the legislative ballot later this month.