Macron's popularity recovers as support for 'Yellow Vest' movement falters: poll

PARIS - French President Emmanuel Macron's approval rating continued rising in February for the third consecutive month as his offensive to defend policy at a series of debates in rural regions helped him ride out the "Yellow Vest" movement, a survey showed.

A total of 32 percent of those surveyed in an Odoxa poll, which was conducted on Feb. 20-21 among 1,000 people and published on Monday, thought Macron was a good president, up by 2 percentage points from January's score.

"Emmanuel Macron continues his recovery. He gained another 2 points in February, which represents a gain of 5 points since December. And now, he erases a fall which had been triggered by the 'Yellow Vest' movement," the pollster said.

The online poll also showed that the share of people who consider that the social action should stop rose to 55 percent versus 45 percent of respondents in January.

The "Yellow Vest" movement started as a campaign against a surge in fuel prices in November 2018. It then evolved into a social rebellion demanding the president to step down.

With no leader and internal rifts, the weekly demonstrations showed signs of fatigue with time. The latest round of gathering attracted only 46,600 participants nationwide last Saturday.