Macron's popularity picks up and the radical left continues to rise

Paris, 21 Mar Twenty days before the French presidential elections, the outgoing head of state and candidate, Emmanuel Macron, achieved a rebound in popularity, although insufficient to reach the approved one, while the left-wing candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon confirms his upward trend and is already third. The Ifop Demoscopic Institute found that between 10 and 17 March, in the midst of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, voters improved their opinion of Macron by three points, from 39 per cent of respondents to 42 per cent. However, those who have a bad opinion about the ruler are still a majority, 56% (2% do not pronounce). Of that 42%, their highest point since spring 2020, in the middle of the first wave of the pandemic, only 9% declare themselves “very satisfied” with the tenant of the Elysée and 33% “rather satisfied”. On the other hand, 28% say they are “very unhappy” and another 28% “rather unhappy”. In any case, Macron has a better image than his two predecessors at the same height of his term, the conservative Nicolas Sarkozy, who had 36% approvals, and the socialist François Hollande, with 22%. The Ifop also evaluates the French Prime Minister, Jean Castex, to whom it grants 39% of approvals, also three points more than the previous measurement. Castex is, however, a long way from the popularity of its predecessor Édouard Philippe, who was around 50% when he left office in July 2020. Regarding the presidential elections held on April 10, 36% of respondents believe that the war in Ukraine will influence the direction of the vote in a country where candidates such as the ultras Marine Le Pen, Éric Zemmour or the leftist Mélenchon have in the past expressed some sympathy or understanding for Vladimir Putin. According to Ifop, Macron can advance to the second round on April 24, with 29.5% of the vote, followed by Le Pen, with 18.5%. The second round can be won, according to the study, with 58%, compared to 42% for his opponent. Zemmour, who in previous polls fought side by side with Le Pen to enter the second round, can get 12% of the support and can be overtaken by Mélenchon, who can collect 13% of the voting intentions. The leader of Unsubmissive France, who held a massive rally this past Sunday in Paris, pointed out as progressivism's only hope to reach a second round, as the other candidates from his political sphere are far behind. The environmentalist Yannick Jadot can receive 5.5%; the communist Fabien Roussel, 4%; and the socialist mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, 2%. CHIEF atc/mgrpddp