Macron’s ratings near record low amid protests

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron´s personal ratings are approaching their lowest recorded level over his handling of pension reform and protests, a poll indicated on Tuesday.

The survey by the Odoxa polling group said only 30 percent of respondents thought he was a “good” president, down by six percentage points in a month, while 70 percent judged him negatively. Macron´s popularity is approaching the low reached in December 2018 during so-called “Yellow Vest” anti-government demonstrations, when only 27 percent of people held positive views of the president.

The survey, carried out for the Public Senat channel and regional newspapers, showed falls for most of the French political class amid increasingly violent protests against the government´s bid to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.