Credit:White House photo by Eric Draper

Jacques Chirac

(Angus Reid Global Scan) - French adults are dissatisfied with Jacques Chirac, according to a poll by TNS-Sofres published in Le Figaro. Only 36 per cent of respondents believe the president's actions during his tenure have been positive.

Chirac won the presidential election in 1995, and was re-elected in a run-off over Jean-Marie Le Pen in May 2002. The head of state's popularity increased in late 2002 and early 2003 due to his vocal opposition to armed conflict in Iraq without an explicit mandate from the United Nations (UN) Security Council.

The poll's results outline a 20 per cent drop in Chirac's approval since 2000. In November, 49-year-old Nicolas Sarkozy was elected president of the centre-right Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). Five months earlier, Chirac declared he would not allow Sarkozy to keep his post as finance minister and head the UMP, saying this would undermine prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin.

The 72-year-old Chirac has not ruled out becoming a candidate for the third time in 2007. The governing centre-right UMP has been affected by the upcoming referendum on the European Constitution. Recent public opinion polls suggest a very close race in the plebiscite scheduled for May 29.

Polling Data

Would you say Jacques Chirac's actions during his years as president have been positive or negative?

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