A slight increase is recorded in Emmanuel Macron’s popularity due to his stance on international developments and his confrontation with American president Donald Trump. According to the IFOP barometer, which has been tracking the popularity of French leaders for 65 years, Macron gains two points in January, raising his approval rating to 20%, amid intense geopolitical tensions.
Despite the low popularity level, the international situation appears to offer him a political “breathing space.” At the end of the previous year, his popularity had reached 16%, approaching François Hollande’s historic low of 13% in 2014. The slight increase is largely due to international geopolitical upheavals and the confrontation with former US president Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu sees his popularity decline to 33%, losing two points in January. Despite the decrease, this is the first time since the 1980s that a prime minister has not collapsed after using Article 49.3, which allows him to legislate without a National Assembly vote, as recently happened with the 2026 state budget.
