Credit:The White House

Jacques Chirac

(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Few adults in France believe their current president will be able to serve a third consecutive term, according to a poll by CSA published in Le Bleu de Profession Politique. Only 21 per cent of respondents believe Jacques Chirac can win the next presidential ballot.

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. 72 per cent of respondents believe Chirac is likeable, and represents France properly in the world.

On May 29, 54.8 per cent of all French voters rejected the European Constitution in a nationwide plebiscite. The outcome is regarded as a negative response to the current centre-right government. Two days after the ballot, Chirac appointed Dominique de Villepin as the country's new prime minister, substituting Jean-Pierre Raffarin. More than half of all respondents believe Chirac will be unable to move Europe in the right direction.

The next presidential election in France is tentatively scheduled for April 2007. Current interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy has been mentioned as a possible candidate for Chirac's Union for a Popular Movement (UMP).

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