Nearly 2 In 3 French Prefer Ex-Premier Philippe To Macron - Poll

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th January, 2022) Almost two-thirds of French believe that former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe would make a better president than Emmanuel Macron, a poll published Tuesday found.

Philippe was more popular with the public than Macron even before the 2020 cabinet reshuffle. The new poll, conducted by Odoxa among over 1,000 French from January 19-20, put the incumbent's approval at 39%, 5 points lower than in December.

Philippe, the mayor of Le Havre, has been steadily polling ahead of Macron the past two years, Oxoda analysts said. Sixty-four percent said he would be a better president, compared to 33% who opted for Macron.

The majority of those polled described Philippe as "competent," "agreeable," "persuasive," "having strong convictions," and "close to the people." Six in 10 said Philippe was likely to return to grand politics, despite declining a run in this spring's presidential race.