French president will be forced to change his style of governing, say analysts

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A month of gilets jaunes, or yellow vests, protests have taken a further toll on the popularity of President Emmanuel Macron, a new poll showed on Sunday, with analysts saying he will be forced to change his style of governing.

Around 66,000 protesters turned out again on Saturday on the fifth round of anti-government demonstrations, which sprung up over diesel taxes last month.

The figure was about half the number of the previous weekend, suggesting momentum was waning and the most acute political crisis of Macron’s 19-month presidency was coming to an end.

Around 69,000 security forces were mobilised across France on Saturday, down from 89,000 the weekend before when 2,000 people were detained.

“It is calming down, but what remains of it all is a strong feeling of hatred towards Macron,” said veteran sociologist Herve Le Bras from the School of Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS).

A major poll by the Ifop group published in Journal du Dimanche newspaper showed Macron’s approval had slipped another two points in the last month, to 23%. The proportion of people who declared themselves “very dissatisfied” by his leadership jumped by six points to 45%.

Play Video 0:56 Gilets jaunes resume protests and clash with Paris riot police - video

Many of the protesters have targeted Macron personally, focusing on his background as an investment banker and alleged elitism, and called on him to resign.

A different poll by Ipsos on Wednesday last week showed that a mere 20% of respondents were happy with his presidency, a fall of six points to its lowest ever level.

Le Bras said the protests had underlined the depth of dislike for Macron’s personality and style of governing, which critics see as arrogant and too distant. “Even by being more humble, it’s going to be complicated,” he added.

Until last week, a clear majority of French people had backed the protests, which sprung up initially over fuel tax hikes before snowballing into a wider opposition front against Macron.

In a bid to end the standoff, Macron announced a package of measures for low-income workers on Monday in a televised address, estimated by economists to cost up to €15bn (£13.5bn).

The 40-year-old also acknowledged widespread animosity towards him and came close to apologising for a series of verbal gaffes seen as dismissive of the poor or jobless.

The government has announced a six-month consultation with civil society groups, mayors, businesses and the gilets jaunes to discuss tax and other economic reforms.

Calls for end to gilets jaunes protests in wake of Strasbourg shooting Read more

Hikes in petrol and diesel taxes, as well as tougher emissions controls on old vehicles – justified on the grounds of environmental protection – were what sparked the gilets jaunes movement.

In Paris on Saturday, the more than 8,000 police on duty easily outnumbered the 2,200 protesters counted by local authorities.

There were 168 arrests by early evening, far fewer than the 1,000 or so of last Saturday.

Tear gas was occasionally fired, but only a fraction compared with the weekends of 8 December or 1 December, when graffiti was daubed on the Arc de Triomphe in scenes that shocked France.

Richard Ferrand, the head of the National Assembly, welcomed the “necessary” weakening of gilets jaunes rallies on Saturday, adding that “there had been a massive response to their demands”.

Christophe Castaner, the interior minister, also called on protesters to halt their blockades across the country which have seen traffic and businesses disrupted.