The majority of French people – 54 per cent – “do not trust the head of state to fix the country’s social and economic problems”, according to the Elabe poll for Radio Classique and Les Echos.
And 27 per cent of those questioned don’t trust him at all.
In a glimmer of hope for the embattled French President, Mr Macron’s satisfaction rating has slightly recovered from the record lows he faced over the summer when he brought in controversial labour reforms.
Now 40 per cent of respondents said they were “satisfied” with the 39-year-old’s performance, up from 37 per cent in September.
His current approval ratings, however, pale in comparison to his high post-election ratings, when some 60 per cent of French voters expressed satisfaction with their new leader.
Conservative Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has also enjoyed a small increase in his approval ratings: 36 per cent of those interviewed told pollsters they were “satisfied” with the job Mr Philippe is doing, up from 32 per cent in September.
But 50 per cent of the 1,001 people polled between October 3 and 4 said they did not trust the prime minister to fix the country’s problems.
Mr Macron, who basked in a landslide victory less than six months ago, has suffered a series of setbacks at home since winning power, including tough debates in parliament over labour reforms and the move to enshrine a number of emergency police powers into common law in a bid to combat terrorism.
But the recent controversy over the president’s use of the word “bordel” – which literally translates as “brothel” but means “wreaking f***ing havoc” in spoken French – is the latest in a series of blunders which have tarnished his credibility and image among voters.
Mr Macron sparked outrage last week after he said during a visit to a training centre in the Creuse department of central France that the employees of the struggling local auto parts factory, GM&S, should be job hunting “instead of wreaking f***ing havoc”.
More than half of GM&S’ employees risk losing their jobs in a takeover – and scores were staging a protest outside the training centre when Mr Macron made the comments.
Mr Macron’s team, however, attempted to soften the blow, saying while the president regretted using the word “bordel”, he did not regret saying the GM&S workers facing redundancy should be busy job hunting instead of protesting.
Mr Philippe told Europe 1 radio this morning: “I don’t really understand why (his use of the word bordel) has stirred up so much controversy.
“The president is someone who speaks his mind … he got a little carried away. It was just a slip of the tongue. (Swearing) happens to the best of us. I get told off by my seven-year-old daughter when I swear.”