PARIS: The French are largely satisfied with the appointment of the center-right Michel Barnier as prime minister, but believe he will not last long in his new post, a poll said on Sunday.
According to the Ifop poll for the Journal du Dimanche, 52 percent of people polled said they were satisfied with the appointment of 73-year-old Barnier, a former foreign minister who acted as the European Union’s Brexit negotiator, as head of government.
By comparison, 53 percent of respondents approved the nomination of Barnier’s predecessor, Gabriel Attal, when he was appointed prime minister in early January, becoming France’s youngest-ever prime minister at 34.
The poll was released after more than 100,000 left-wing demonstrators rallied across France on Saturday to protest against the nomination of Barnier as prime minister and denounce President Emmanuel Macron’s “power grab.”
Barnier’s appointment marks a potential turning point following two months of political chaos in the wake of snap elections called by Macron that left no group close to an overall majority in the National Assembly lower house of parliament.
According to the Ifop poll, a majority of respondents see Barnier, the oldest prime minister in the history of modern France, as competent (62 percent), open to dialogue (61 percent) and likeable (60 percent).
However, the left has vowed to topple Barnier with a no-confidence motion, and 74 percent of respondents polled believe he would not last long in the post, according to the survey. Ifop polled 950 adults online on Sept. 5-6. The margin of error was up to 3.1 points.
