Polls & Research
Archive Search
Support Up for Chirac, de Villepin in France
- More French adults are satisfied with their president, according to a poll by TNS-Sofres published in Le Figaro. 21 per cent of respondents have confidence in their Jacques Chirac to face the country's problems, up five points since June.
Chirac won the presidential election in 1995, and was re-elected in a run-off over Jean-Marie Le Pen in May 2002. Following a defeat in the May 2005 referendum on the European Constitution, Chirac named de Villepin as the country's new prime minister. 22 per cent of respondents express confidence in de Villepin, also up five points.
In April, de Villepin issued a statement admitting he had authorized a series of investigations into corruption allegations related to Luxembourg-based financial firm Clearstream during his time as foreign minister. However, de Villepin denied having personally ordered a probe into the alleged involvement of interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy, and has ruled out resigning. Chirac has expressed support for his prime minister.
The Clearstream allegations date back to July 2004, when several French politicians were accused, by an anonymous source, of having received kickbacks from the 1991 sale of six frigates to Taiwan.
Last week, France announced the deployment of 400 soldiers as part of a peacekeeping force in the Middle East. French defence minister Michèle Alliot-Marie declared, "I can't let it be said or implied that France is not doing its duty in the Lebanese crisis."
Polling Data
Do you have confidence in president Jacques Chirac to face France's problems?
Jul. 2006 | Jun. 2006 | May 2006 | |
Confidence | 21% | 16% | 17% |
No confidence | 77% | 81% | 81% |
Do you have confidence in prime minister Dominique de Villepin to face France's problems?
Jul. 2006 | Jun. 2006 | May 2006 | |
Confidence | 22% | 17% | 20% |
No confidence | 75% | 79% | 73% |
Source: TNS-Sofres / Le Figaro
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 1,000 French adults, conducted on Jul. 26 and Jul. 27, 2006. No margin of error was provided.