Regional in Paca: the French denounce "an electoral maneuver" of the government to divide the right

The sequence will leave traces.

Punctuated by twists and turns, the episode of regional in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur was decoded negatively by the French, according to an Odoxa-Backbone consulting survey carried out for

Le Figaro

and France Info.

As a reminder, it was Prime Minister Jean Castex who started the sequence by announcing, in

Le Journal du Dimanche

, the withdrawal from the LREM list led by Sophie Cluzel for the benefit of outgoing president LR, Renaud Muselier.

To read also: Xavier Bertrand: "Emmanuel Macron is a cold calculator, a destroyer"

After having been aroused by the Republican executives - who finally maintained their support for the incumbent president -, it is up to public opinion to show its disagreement.

For 6 out of 10 French people (59%), the government majority's support for the LR list is seen as "

an electoral maneuver by the government to divide the right

".

The finding is even harder among LR supporters, among whom 74% believe that "

the political intention

" is "

obvious

".

Same story on the left (51%) and even more so at the National Rally (91%).

Only a minority of the French see this support as a "

good thing

" to "

block the RN in the region

".

The strategy is the most welcomed among LREM supporters (82%).

The image of Macron, Castex and Muselier emerges deteriorated

While the outcome of the sequence is not yet fixed - the lists, the composition of which remains unclear, will be filed no later than May 17 - no one should come out grown.

The French are thus three times more likely to consider that the image of the Head of State, of his Prime Minister, but also of Renaud Muselier, has deteriorated.

The parties concerned, namely that of the Republicans and LREM, suffer the same fate.

Read also: The mayor of Toulon Hubert Falco leaves Les Républicains after tensions in Paca

Emmanuel Macron is all the more severely judged since 62% of the French think that he is taking advantage of these elections to apply a strategy of division of the right in view of the presidential election.

This feeling is very strong among right-wing supporters, both RN (84%) and LR (73%), but also on the left, among the socialists (72%) and the rebellious (73%).

This time, even a third of supporters of macronism lend the president this intention.

No natural candidate on the right

However, the “at the same time” is also found in public opinion. Although denouncing these political strategies, 6 out of 10 French people believe that the proposals of La République en Marche are close to the right, and that Emmanuel Macron therefore does not really have to force himself to seduce or divide it. The observation is shared on the left, as among LREM supporters. Almost one in two LR supporters think so too.

On the other hand, to the question “who to represent the right in 2022?”, The French are struggling to clearly identify a natural candidate. The president of Hauts-de-France Xavier Bertrand is designated favorite by both public opinion and LR supporters (34% and 33%). But it is closely followed by the president of Île-de-France Valérie Pécresse (24% and 27%), and the president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region Laurent Wauquiez (20% and 27%). The last in line is the discreet Michel Barnier, also Brexit negotiator (16 to 17%).

Far from being forgotten, it is the former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe who remains in the minds of the French. They are 57%, among LR sympathizers, to wish his candidacy, and even 46% among LREM sympathizers, if Emmanuel Macron did not come forward. According to Odoxa's latest political barometer, the mayor of Le Havre is still the favorite political figure of the French.