Jonathan Miller Jonathan Miller

Why Boris is loved by the French

Boris Johnson is more popular in France than Emmanuel Macron, which might not be a high hurdle to overcome, since Macron is rather generally unloved. Except Johnson is not just marginally more popular, but massively so. Indeed, the French seem to like him even more than the British. And he’s popular right across the French political spectrum, from the extreme right to the extreme left. Chouette!

According to a study in the news magazine Le Point, 51 per cent of French voters have a favourable opinion of the Prime Minister, at least 10 points clear of recent polls assessing the popularity of the President.

Even supporters of Macron believe Johnson has managed the Covid crisis better than the President

‘Boris Johnson has seduced a majority of the French with a non-traditional political line. By breaking the codes, he’s conquered the social classes normally disenchanted with politics,’ according to William Thay et Emeric Guisset of the Millénaire political consultancy, which conducted the study.

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