Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research

French React To Gaymard’s Dismissal

March 02, 2005

Credit:White House photo by Eric Draper

Jacques Chirac

(Angus Reid Consultants - CPOD Global Scan) - Adults in France have conflicting views on the resignation of finance minister Hervé Gaymard, according to a poll by Ifop. 66 per cent of respondents believe the issue is shocking, but 59 per cent think the case was blown out of proportion by the media.

Gaymard took over the finance portfolio after Nicolas Sarkozy was elected president of the governing centre-right Union for a Popular Movement (UMp) in November. Five months earlier, French president Jacques 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.

On Feb. 25, Gaymard resigned from cabinet after acknowledging a "serious error of judgement concerning the terms of my official residence." Several information sources reported on the high cost of the public servant's government-paid apartment. The politician was replaced by Thierry Breton in the finance portfolio. 50 per cent of respondents believe the affair will not affect the current administration.

Polling Data

On the issue of Hervé Gaymard's apartment, would you say it is...

 

Yes

No

Shocking

66%

31%

Serious

63%

34%

Blown out of proportion by the media

59%

38%

Secondary, minor

51%

46%

Would you say the affair has made the government weaker or stronger?

Weaker

43%

Stronger

4%

Neither

50%

Unsure

3%

Source: Ifop
Methodology: Telephone interviews to 957 French adults, conducted on Feb. 24 and Feb. 25, 2005. No margin of error was provided.

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