PARIS: Sixty percent of French voters are unhappy with President Emmanuel Macron, a survey said Wednesday, with strikes and protests growing as the ambitious young reformer prepares to mark a year in office.
Some 58 percent of people declared themselves dissatisfied with the 40-year-old, who has sparked anger among some groups by announcing reforms to everything from the courts and education system to the national rail operator.
The Ifop-Fiducial poll was broadly in line with other surveys showing an approval rate at around 40 percent almost a year after Macron swept to power last May at the head of a new centrist party.
A majority — 57 percent — agreed Macron was keeping his electoral promises after a campaign in which the political upstart pledged to slim down the state and make France more competitive.
“I’m doing what I said I would,” he told TF1 television during an interview last week, part of a media blitz to reconnect with voters and defend his reform agenda ahead of the anniversary.
The poll comes as Macron faces three months of rolling strikes on the railways over his plans to shake up heavily-indebted operator SNCF, scrapping early retirement and other benefits for new hires.
The latest in a series of mass public sector strikes over his cost-cutting plans is planned Thursday, while students at numerous universities around France are blocking faculty buildings over his higher education reforms.
On foreign policy, where Macron has pursued an energetic role, from the Middle East to climate diplomacy, the verdict was more positive than on domestic affairs.
Some 67 percent agreed that his passionate defense of the EU had been “positive” for relations with the bloc, while 63 percent said he had improved France’s image abroad.
And 56 percent said the pro-business president had boosted economic growth and France’s attractiveness as an investment destination, following a wave of positive economic data.
But only 27 percent said they support increased taxes for retirees, and just 18 percent said he was improving health care.
Just 30 percent agreed that Macron was “in touch with French people’s concerns,” following accusations from leftwingers that his tax cuts for the wealthy make him a “president of the rich.”
The survey for Paris Match magazine, Sud Radio and CNEWS television questioned 1,200 people online between April 12 and April 16.
60 percent ‘unhappy’ with Macron as French protests grow
60 percent ‘unhappy’ with Macron as French protests grow
Pakistan killed over 80 militants in strikes on TTP camps in Afghanistan — official
- Saturday’s airstrikes followed a series of attacks inside Pakistan amid a surge in militancy
- The Afghan Taliban authorities accuse Pakistani forces of killing civilians in the airstrikes
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s airstrikes in Afghanistan destroyed seven Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) camps and killed over 80 militants, a Pakistani security official said on Sunday, with the Afghan Taliban accusing Pakistani forces of killing civilians in the assault.
Saturday’s airstrikes followed a series of attacks inside Pakistan amid a surge in militancy. Authorities say the attacks, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, were carried out by the TTP and allied groups that Islamabad alleges are operating from sanctuaries in Afghanistan. Kabul denies this.
According to Pakistan’s information ministry, recent incidents included a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad, separate attacks in Bajaur and Bannu, and another recent incident in Bannu during the holy month of Ramadan, which started earlier this week. The government said it had “conclusive evidence” linking the attacks to militants directed by leadership based in Afghanistan.
“Last night, Pakistan’s intelligence-based air strikes destroyed seven centers of Fitna Al-Khawarij TTP in three provinces of Nangarhar, Paktika and Khost, in which more than eighty Khawarij (TTP militants) have been confirmed killed, while more are expected,” a Pakistani security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Arab News.
An earlier statement from Pakistan’s information ministry said the targets included a camp of a Daesh regional affiliate, the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), which claimed a suicide bombing at an Islamabad Shiite mosque that killed 32 people this month.
In an X post, Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistani forces had violated Afghan territory.
“Pakistani special military circles have once again trespassed into Afghan territory,” Mujahid said. “Last night, they bombed our civilian compatriots in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces, martyring and wounding dozens of people, including women and children.”
The Afghan Taliban’s claims of civilian casualties could not be independently verified. Pakistan did not immediately comment on the allegation that civilians had been killed in the strikes.
In a post on X, Afghanistan’s foreign ministry said it had summoned Pakistan’s charge d’affaires to Afghanistan Ubaid-ur-Rehman Nizamani and lodged protest through a formal démarche in response to the Pakistani military strikes.
“IEA-MoFA (The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs) vehemently condemns the violation of Afghanistan’s airspace and the targeting of civilians, describing it as a flagrant breach of Afghanistan’s territorial integrity & a provocative action,” it said in a statement.
“The Pakistani side was also categorically informed that safeguarding Afghanistan’s territorial integrity is the religious responsibility of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan; henceforth, the responsibility for any adverse consequences of such actions will rest with the opposing side.”
Tensions between Islamabad and Kabul have escalated since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021. Pakistan says cross-border militant attacks have increased since then and has accused the Taliban of failing to honor commitments under the 2020 Doha Agreement to prevent Afghan soil from being used for attacks against other countries. The Taliban deny allowing such activity and have previously rejected similar accusations.
Saturday’s exchange of accusations marks one of the most direct confrontations between the two neighbors in recent months and risks further straining already fragile ties along the volatile border.
