Ahead of Philippe, Barnier or Attal: de Villepin again leads a popularity poll of political figures

Former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin returned to the top of the ranking of the French people's favorite political figures in May, ahead of Édouard Philippe, according to an Ifop-Fiducial study for Paris Match and Sud Radio published on Monday, May 12, 2025.

He has a 51% positive opinion, an increase of one point compared to April, when he was relegated to second place, on a knife edge, facing Édouard Philippe , Emmanuel Macron's first head of government.

In February and then in March, Dominique de Villepin took the top spot in this ranking.

Édouard Philippe is close behind him, with a 50% approval rating. However, he has dropped two points compared to the previous ranking, thus ceding him first place.

He is closely followed by two other former Prime Ministers, Michel Barnier (46%) and Gabriel Attal (45%).

Dominique de Villepin gained ground after a series of very strong statements on the conflict in Gaza and the crisis between Paris and Algiers .

He is supported on the left, with 55% positive opinions - including 65% in La France Insoumise - as well as on the right (55%), notably in his former political family Les Républicains (70%).

The former Prime Minister, who made a name for himself in 2003 when he was Jacques Chirac's foreign minister with his speech at the UN against the war in Iraq, also reveals his ambitions for 2027.

The survey was conducted on a sample of 1,018 people, representative of the French population aged 18 and over. Margin of error between 1.4 and 3.1 points.