Macron's Approval Rating in April Maintains Surge Amid COVID-19 Pandemic - Poll

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Forty-two percent of French people positively assess the actions of French President Emmanuel Macron, a recent Ifop poll, released on Monday, showed, indicating that the approval rating of the head of state continues to surge from March.

"The popularity indexes show that 42% of French people say they are satisfied with the  [actions of the ] President of the Republic," the poll concluded.

The survey, conducted from April 8-18, says that the approval rating of the president has significantly fluctuated during the last two weeks.

The first part of the poll, which was carried out before Macron's address to the nation on April 13, showed that his popularity had fallen by 6 points to 37 percent. The second part of the poll, conducted after Macron's speech, showed an increase in support to 47 percent.

Overall, his approval rating saw a decrease of one percent from March of this year.

Meanwhile, the approval rating of Prime Minister Edouard Philippe saw improvement. According to the poll, his rating stands at 44 percent, which is 2 points more than in March.

Over the past year, the French President's popularity has seen a decline due to pension system reform plans and the yellow vests protests. However, Macron’s and Phillipe’s approval rates have significantly increased over the introduction of a total lockdown in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The extension of the self-isolation regime was announced by Macron in his speech last Monday, to loosen the social distancing restrictions after May 11, including the gradual opening of schools, parks and other public places. As for today, the total number of reported COVID-19 cases in France is approaching 150,000 with nearly 20,000 deaths.