Macron’s Ratings Fall by 10% over Month, Show Worst Dynamics Since 1995: Poll
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - French President Emmanuel Macron's approval ratings fell by 10 percent in one month, reaching 54 percent, a poll by Ifop pollster for Journal du Dimanche newspaper said.
According to the poll, released late on Saturday, Macron’s approval ratings show the sharpest decline over the first three months of presidency since then-President Jacques Chirac, who lost 15 percent in May-July 1995.
Such results are based on the recent resignation of France's Army Chief of Staff Gen. Pierre de Villiers over his dispute with Macron regarding the cuts in military spending, the newspaper added, Sputnik reported.
On Wednesday, De Villiers announced his resignation because of disagreement with Macron’s decision to cut 850 million euro ($980 million) in defense spending in an effort to meet the EU requirement for member states to maintain their deficits at 3 percent of GDP.
According to the poll, many respondents criticize Macron’s "authoritarian" policy on the issue, but many others still note the president's "carriage" and activity.
Following de Villiers’ resignation, Macron said in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche that "if there was a difference in the opinion between the president and the defense chief, it is the defense chief who has to change the opinion."
Leader of the French right-wing National Front (FN) party Marine Le Pen condemned Macron’s harsh stance on the situation, warning that the resignation of de Villiers was a sign of "a very serious divergence" in Macron’s attitude and policy.