After weeks of political turmoil that has left France without a government, a recent poll shows President Emmanuel Macron and caretaker PM Gabriel Attal benefitting from a slight uptick in popularity, boosted by a positive start to the Paris Olympics.
A poll published Thursday showed the popularity of Macron and his prime minister had gone up by two points in the last three weeks, reaching 27 percent and 33 percent respectively.
Former conservative premier Edouard Philippe remained the most popular political figure (45 percent), ahead of far-right National Rally leaders Jordan Bardella (39 percent) and Marine Le Pen (37 percent).
Gérald Darmanin, the caretaker interior minister, was up four points to reach 31 percent. He seems to have benefitted the most from the Paris Games, which have so far not encountered any major security issues.
Macron watched the ceremony along the River Seine that opened the Games last Friday, followed by a whirlwind tour of some initial events on Saturday.
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Political truce
But France's leader is now taking a back seat. On Sunday he headed off to Fort de Brégançon – the Mediterranean holiday residence for the French head of state – leaving Attal to oversee proceedings in Paris.
Macron would seem to be observing his own call for a summer political truce in France during the Olympics, after two months of political tension.
The president called snap parliamentary elections after his party was trounced by the far right in European Parliament elections in June.
After the far-right RN party did well in the first round, there were fears it could win the elections and head a new government.
In the end, the leftwing New Popular Front (NFP) alliance came out on top, though without winning an outright majority, leaving France with a hung parliament.
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Attal on front line
Attal and his government have submitted their resignations, but remain in power in a caretaker capacity.
They cannot propose any new legislation, but on Wednesday Attal published a decree postponing the implementation of a government reform to restrict access to unemployment benefits.
Jumping from one sports arena to another and hanging out with supporters, Attal has been on the front line since the start of the Games, which he described on Wednesday as a "real success on all levels".
"We chose to be ambitious, and the ambition is paying off," he said, referring to French enthusiasm for the Games after months of apparent nonchalance.
He cheered on the victorious men's French rugby sevens team from the Club France hospitality pavillion and witnessed the exploits of French swimming superstar Léon Marchand.
Working holiday
President Macron has made clear he will not name a new government until after the Olympics.
The NFP alliance has put forward left-leaning economist Lucie Castets as its pick for prime minister, but Macron is clearly in no hurry to have a premier from the left.
Macron dismisses left-wing demand for new PM, urges post-Olympics unity
Macron is using this break to "reflect on the future government" while hoping that the situation will "settle down", a minister told France’s AFP news agency, asking not to be named.
His team insists he is working as he keeps a close eye on crises in the Middle East, and he spoke to new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian earlier this week.
A presidential official has described his holiday as "intermittent" with trips to Paris not ruled out, and the president is expected in the capital for the Olympics closing ceremony on 11 August.
(with AFP)
