l****z
发帖数: 29846 | 1 (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande's approval rating slipped
sharply in July, a poll showed on Monday, as enthusiasm for the Socialist
leader suffered amid weak economic news, unfavorable headlines and a raft of
heavy tax rises.
Hollande's popularity dropped five percentage points to 53 percent while
that of his prime minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, was steady at 56 percent,
pollster LH2 said in a survey published in left-leaning magazine Le Nouvel
Observateur.
July has been Hollande's toughest month in office so far since he was
elected in May, promising voters to bring down France's unemployment rate,
stop the decline of its industrial sector and raise the income of low-
earning workers.
It started with the announcement of tax rises worth 7.2 billion euros,
singling out wealthy households and big corporations for hefty one-off
levies, as Hollande's government sought to plug a revenue shortfall.
France's economic outlook grew bleaker, as growth ground to a halt in the
first quarter, industrial output slumped more sharply than expected in May
and the jobless total hit a new 13-year high.
Hollande presided met unions to discuss options for the job market, but the
meeting was partly overshadowed by warnings that 75,000 jobs were likely to
be cut in an upcoming round of industrial restructuring.
As LH2 conducted its poll, querying 966 people on July 12 and 13, newspapers
were full of the news that carmaker Peugeot PSA was about to shut a large
factory in a Paris suburb.
Earlier in the month, an Ifop poll showed Hollande's popularity rating at 56
percent, down 7 percentage points since the previous poll. He has not
enjoyed the honeymoon period of former President Nicolas Sarkozy.
"While his predecessor enjoyed a summer grace period after taking office,
Francois Hollande is already confronted with his first decline in popularity
," LH2 said in a statement accompanying its poll results.
Middle class voters were especially worried that promises of increased
purchasing power and more jobs would not materialize, while men were
confident than women, LH2 added.
(Reporting By Nicholas Vinocur; Editing by Robin Pomeroy) |
|
