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French Trust Fillon More Than Sarkozy

February 16, 2008

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Fewer people in France are expressing confidence in their president’s ability to deal with national issues, according to a poll by CSA published in Le Parisien. 42 per cent of respondents trust Nicolas Sarkozy to face the country’s problems, down six points since January.

In May 2007, Sarkozy, a centre-right Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) candidate and former interior minister, won the presidential run-off with 53.06 per cent of the vote. Sarkozy appointed François Fillon—who had been his adviser and presidential campaign leader—as prime minister. 47 per cent of respondents have confidence in Fillon’s leadership skills, up five points in a month.

On Jan. 23, when asked about what real action had the government taken in terms of financial reforms, Fillon responded: "In the 2008 budget we have resisted increasing the volume of public spending. In fact, the idea is straight forward—we want to freeze public spending for five years, including state contributions for local authorities for the first time in 30 years."

Polling Data

Do you have confidence in French president Nicolas Sarkozy to face the country’s problems?

 

Feb. 2008

Jan. 2008

Dec. 2007

Confidence

42%

48%

55%

No confidence

52%

45%

38%

Do you have confidence in French prime minister François Fillon to face the country’s problems?

 

Feb. 2008

Jan. 2008

Dec. 2007

Confidence

47%

42%

45%

No confidence

36%

39%

39%

Source: CSA / Le Parisien
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,004 French adults, conducted on Feb. 6 and Feb. 7, 2008. No margin of error was provided.