Change faces but stay the course. This is, in essence, the way the French interpret the reshuffle announced on Monday. According to the latest wave of our Odoxa-Dentsu Consulting survey, carried out in partnership with France Info, about one in two citizens say they are satisfied with the composition of the new government (51%), and with the choice of Prime Minister Jean Castex (52%) .
Unknown to the general public before his appointment to Matignon, the former LR mayor of Prades (Pyrénées-Orientales) was notably assistant general secretary of the Élysée under Nicolas Sarkozy (2011-2012). Unsurprisingly, it therefore rather attracts the favor of sympathizers macronists (84%) and Republicans (70%), but it does not reassure the rebellious voters (27%) and socialists (47%).
Will the “new path” look like the old one?
The French also approve the arbitrations of the executive in terms of casting. The most popular departures are those of Christophe Castaner (78%), who leaves the Interior; Muriel Pénicaud (78%), thanked at Work; Nicole Belloubet (76%), replaced at Justice; Franck Riester (68%), struggling for Culture; and Didier Guillaume (64%), who sold Agriculture.
Despite this vast upheaval, which aims to constitute " a government of mission and assembly " for 2022, the French do not expect much from this new team. In total, 81% of them even suspect Emmanuel Macron of not wanting to change anything in the policy he has pursued since 2017. The " new path " is still struggling to convince.