Appointed to Matignon at the beginning of January, Gabriel Attal does not escape the judgment of “100 days”. On the eve of a trip to Viry-Châtillon (Essonne) on the theme of authority, before continuing with a major program the same evening on BFMTV, the head of government can rely on a solid foundation in the 'opinion. According to an Odoxa Backbone-Consulting survey for
Le Figaro,
published this Wednesday, the host on rue de Varenne is more popular than his predecessors during the same period.
Nearly one in two French people (48%) describe him as a
“good prime minister”
. Or two points more than Édouard Philippe (46%), thirteen points more than Jean Castex (35%), and seven points more than Élisabeth Borne (41%) at the same time. Why such a gap? The polling institute justifies this by the
“relative consensuality”
of the young prime minister: with the notable exception of the extremes, supporters of the other government parties express a positive opinion towards him.
A majority find him “dynamic” (68%), “sympathetic” (62%), “open to dialogue” (59%) but above all “competent” (53%). In a France in search of strong incarnations, 45% of those questioned believe that the head of government is “charismatic”. And demonstrates “authority”. The only downside to his personality is that 62% of respondents doubt that he can stand up to Emmanuel Macron.
A dichotomy between image and action
The Prime Minister may be appreciated, but his action does not obtain the same favors. Odoxa also describes the French as
“a little schizophrenic by being extremely critical of the policy he leads”
. In detail, 69% of them judge Gabriel Attal's results negatively in the eight major areas tested. Including on “youth” (59%) and “school” (64%), even though he had built his reputation on these issues. As for “security”, 67% of respondents were dissatisfied. But it is especially on “immigration” (75%) and the priority of “purchasing power” (78%) that the French are most dissatisfied.
With a view to the 2027 presidential election, 44% of French people think that Gabriel Attal would make a good candidate to represent the majority. Just below the one who was until now the only favorite within the macronie in opinion: Édouard Philippe (45%).
How then can we explain this dichotomy between the good image that Gabriel Attal conveys and the bad judgment that his action provokes? According to the polling institute,
“our fellow citizens believe that it is the president and not the prime minister who, in reality, is the only one truly accountable for the results of the government's action.”
“This is undoubtedly what also explains to what extent Gabriel Attal is more popular than Emmanuel Macron, with 65% of French people saying they prefer him to “his” president,”
specifies Odoxa. Which evokes the
“paradox of the five-year term”: “From now on, the unpopularity of presidents protects the popularity of their prime ministers.”