Over Quarter of French Back Ex-PM Juppe's Return to Office Under Macron

Twenty-six percent of French citizens would prefer to see former Prime Minister Alain Juppe, a member of The Republicans party, return to Matignon under newly elected President Emmanuel Macron, a poll showed Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the Odoxa survey, centrist Francois Bayrou is the second favorite with a backing of 22 percent for his potential appointment as prime minister.

Next in line, according to the poll, is incumbent Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, with 19 percent backing him for the position.

The survey continued to demonstrate that, while Juppe enjoys strong enough support across the political specter, including the left, Bayrou's standing with the right-wing respondents, excluding the National Front party, stands at a mere 8 percent.

According to the poll, 76 percent of the French believe that the choice of the prime minister will have a significant influence on the outcome of the June legislative election.

The survey was carried out online on May 10-11 among 1,028 people aged 18 and older.

Juppe served as the prime minister under Jacques Chirac in 1995-1997 and as Foreign Minister under two presidents: Francois Mitterrand from 1993 to 1995, and Nicolas Sarkozy from 2011 to 2012.

Bayrou held the position of Minister of National Education in 1993-1997 and is currently the leader of the Democratic Party, which is allied with Macron's En Marche! movement.