This is the first alert. A free warning. If the majority of those polled are still satisfied with his action, Emmanuel Macron is however experiencing a very serious fall, on the verge of a tumble. According to the executive barometer carried out between last Monday and Saturday by Ifop for Le JDD, 54% of French people are satisfied with the president, i.e. a drop of ten points in just one month. The Head of State unscrews among those over 65 (- 11 points) and among civil servants (- 18 points). He picks up both in the socialist electorate (- 12 points) and in those of the right and the MoDem (- 11 points and - 25 points). Suffice to say that the honeymoon between the president and the French seems already finished. “At the same time, François Hollande was credited with two more points”, recalls the PS deputy from Val-de-Marne Luc Carvounas. As for Nicolas Sarkozy, he had 66% popularity in July 2007 in the same barometer. The two presidents had then fallen, without being able to climb the slope.

The first summer of a head of state is crucial: "It's the moment when image traits are forged which tend to crystallize later in public opinion", recalls the president of the company. study and consultancy PollingVox Jérôme Sainte-Marie. Around Emmanuel Macron, however, the time is not for panic. “A president, as we know, does not remain popular forever. This is the price to pay for reform, believes Arnaud Leroy, member of the board of directors of La République en Marche and macronist from the start. We must not change course, according to the polls. The last two five-year terms have fallen into this trap. The French want action and, in a way, they are testing politicians in their ability to act as a reformer.

In recent weeks, the authorities have alternated between signals of all-powerful governance (July 14 parade with Donald Trump) and those of the first hesitations. Starting with the government's zizgag in fiscal matters or by management, considered authoritarian by many within the majority, the case of General Pierre de Villiers. Former Chief of Defense Staff slammed the door, after his disagreement on the 850 million euros in savings claimed from the Ministry of Defense.

Overhanging position

“During the presidential election, nobody was interested in the programs. We are now entering the hard, underlines the socialist Luc Carvounas. Admittedly, Emmanuel Macron has given a fine voice to France abroad and given impetus to the country, but the rise in the CSG is a blow for retirees. As for civil servants, they must undergo the reinstatement of the waiting day and the freezing of the index point. Several million euros are also withdrawn from associations that defend women's rights. Finally, local authorities are asked to make much more sacrifices than expected (13 billion euros). The deputy of La France insoumise Alexis Corbière is not to be outdone: "10 points less for Macron: the French are tired of these tricks of magician in the service of the richest", he wrote during the weekend. end on Twitter.

The reduction, limited to 5 euros per month, of APL, did not fail to react, to the left. Former Housing Minister Emmanuelle Cosse tweeted: “So the first housing measure of the Philippe government will have been the reduction of APL. Distressing. And devastating for the less wealthy.” At Matignon, the Prime Minister's entourage insists on the choice of an economy "as moderate as possible", which is part of a global "necessary effort".

Will these probing turbulences incite Emmanuel Macron to make the pedagogy of his reforms, to leave his overhanging position, based on strong images (Macron as a submariner, Macron in a pilot's uniform, Macron in a wheelchair, and soon Macron with the singer Rihanna or with the singer Bono) to grant interviews or discuss with the French? “Comics are good. But words are good too, ”slips a minister. The head of government, Édouard Philippe, who loses eight points in the Ifop barometer, sees his rating associated with the vicissitudes of the president. Obviously, the tenant of Matignon does not fulfill a role of shield. For the executive couple, the hardest part begins.