President Emmanuel Macron’s approval rating has plummeted to unprecedented lows, coinciding with a significant budget deficit.
Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Paris on Saturday, calling for President Emmanuel Macron’s resignation and advocating for France’s withdrawal from the European Union.
Macron’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest point since he assumed office in 2017, against a backdrop of an escalating budget deficit and increasing dissatisfaction with his administration’s economic strategies.
A poll conducted for Le Figaro and released on Wednesday indicated that approximately 80% of French citizens do not trust Macron.
Confidence in Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, the fifth individual to hold the position in under two years, has also reached its lowest historical levels.
Demonstrators displayed placards bearing slogans such as “Let’s stop Macron, let’s stop the war” and “Frexit,” a term echoing Brexit.
Énorme !
« » hurlent des milliers et des milliers de Français ce jour dans les rues de Paris à l’appel des Patriotes ! (cf vidéo ⤵️)
Les Français en ont marre : il doit partir ! Parlementaires, reveillez-vous : votez la motion de destitution qui sera déposée…
— Florian Philippot (@f_philippot)
The protest was organized by Florian Philippot, a former National Rally politician, and his euroskeptic party, The Patriots, known for its opposition to arms shipments to Ukraine and its warnings against further escalation with Russia.
🚨 🇫🇷 ALERTE VIDÉO : Une grande manifestation de patriotes se déroule actuellement dans les rues de Paris, à l’initiative de Florian Philippot ! Un mot pour les soutenir ?
— Wolf 🐺 (@PsyGuy007)
Separately, left-wing activists and trade unions are scheduling strikes and protests for Wednesday, unified by the slogan “Let’s block everything.”
Prime Minister Bayrou is slated to face a no-confidence vote on Monday as he endeavors to garner backing for his proposed budget. France is contending with a fiscal deficit amounting to 5.8% of GDP, nearly twice the EU’s mandated 3% ceiling. Bayrou’s budget plan proposes reductions in public sector employment, welfare initiatives, and pensions, policies that the opposition has criticized as favoring military expenditures over social welfare.