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Which French politicians are the most popular drinking companions?

The results are in for France's annual 'beer test', the mass survey asking the public which politician they would most like to have a beer with, which has proved a surprisingly accurate polling tool.

Published: 28 December 2023 17:17 CET
Updated: 31 December 2023 09:42 CET
Which French politicians are the most popular drinking companions?
The results are in for France's annual 'beer test'. Photo by Daniel LEAL / AFP

Created in 2017, the test (conducted by polling agency Ipof on behalf of the PR firm CorioLink) asks members of the public a simple question – which French politician would you most like to have a beer with?

The poll deliberately doesn’t ask about politics, but over the years the results have proved a surprisingly accurate guide to success or otherwise at the ballot box. 

The top 4

The most popular politician in France for a drinking companion in 2023 is . . . Edouard Philippe, whom 37 percent of French people said they would like to share a beer with.

The former prime minister and current mayor of Le Havre is widely supposed to be the preferred centrist candidate for the 2027 presidential election (in which Emmanuel Macron cannot run because of the limit on two consecutive presidential terms).

Philippe has long enjoyed good poll ratings with the public – in fact it’s rumoured that he was sacked by Macron as prime minister in 2020 for the crime of becoming more popular than his boss. 

Philippe’s less-than-stellar score suggests, however, that French people are not that keen on the idea of drinking with any politicians. 

The second most popular drinking companion was far-right leader Marine Le Pen on 35 percent.

If the 2027 election does indeed see her taking on Philippe, the beer poll suggests that the result will be very tight.

It’s also notable that she is, according to poll originators CorioLink, the only politician who has improved her score in successive years since 2017 – more than 10 points in six years and four points in the last two. Likewise, her 2022 presidential elections scores were better than in 2017 (although Macron still won comfortably). 

Third most popular in the poll is a newcomer – education minister Gabriel Attal, who 34 percent of French people would like to drink with.

A Macron protegee and former government spokesman and junior finance minister, Attal, 34, was made education minister in July 2023.

He appears to have made a good start in a notoriously tricky role, announcing policies on tackling school bullying and a pilot project to introduce uniforms in French schools.

If you look at the graffiti on the streets you might be forgiven for thinking that the entire population hates him – but Macron himself came in at a respectable fourth place, with 28 percent of French people saying they would like to have a beer with him (although there was no subsequent question on whether they would drink the beer or throw it over him).

Despite being a divisive figure, Macron became the first French president in 20 years to be re-elected in 2022, winning a comfortable victory over Le Pen in both the first and the second round of voting. 

His score does, however, represent a steep fall from 2017 when 44 percent of French people would have happily drunk with him – perhaps unsurprising since it’s easy to be popular as a candidate, harder when you have been in office for six years.

And at least we now know what Macron would have no problem with a drinking contest, after he displayed his cul sec (down in one) skills while celebrating with the French national rugby team after their defeat of New Zealand in the opening round of the World Cup.

And the best of the rest

Le Pen easily beat her niece Marion Maréchal who scored 27 percent. Previously seen as a potential successor in the Rassemblement National party which was founded by Le Pen’s father Jean-Marie, Maréchal in 2022 defected to far-right rival Eric Zemmour.

The highest-scoring leftist politician was not Jean-Luc Mélenchon – the leader of the far-left La France Insoumise party and third-placed candidate in the 2022 election scored just 15 percent – but Communist party leader Fabien Roussel.

Despite scoring just 2.28 percent in the 2022 election, Roussel has cultivated a personal popularity through his wit and staunch support of French traditions such as meat-eating, barbecues and wine-drinking – 25 percent of people would like to have a beer with him. 

Next on the list were two government ministers; Bruno Le Maire and Gérald Darmanin.

Finance minister Le Maire scored 24 percent and Darmanin scored 23 percent.

Hardline minister Darmanin (author of the controversial immigration bill) spent much of 2023 positioning himself as a successor to Macron but has recently been saying that he does not intend to stand in 2027.

Perhaps he had an early glance at the beer test results.

Next was another leftist; the MP François Ruffin, a member of Mélenchon’s party, who scored 22 percent.

Ruffin, a former journalist best known for the film Merci, Patron, has been positioning himself as a more moderate voice within LFI, and is also known for his sense of humour and witty short films posted on social media. 

Prime minister Elisabeth Borne scored 21 percent – a respectable score since the prime minister has the job of enacting the most controversial aspects of government policy. The oft-repeated joke is that the real role of a French prime minister is to soak up public anger and then get fired whenever the president needs a popularity boost.

Following Mélenchon on 15 percent was Parti Socialise leader Olivier Faure on 14 percent.

And the least popular

The lowest scorer was Sandrine Rousseau of the Green party, who just 13 percent of people would like to drink with. Although the Green party itself remains popular, especially on a local level, and Green issues are steadily rising up the list of issues of concern to French voters, Rousseau may have suffered in the beer poll due to her personal reputation for being something of a killjoy.

Her reaction to that video of Macron downing a beer with rugby players was to label it an example of “toxic masculinity” – suggesting that she would be no fun in the bar. 

The full results

  • Edouard Philippe (37 percent)
  • Marine Le Pen (35 percent)
  • Gabriel Attal (34 percent)
  • Emmanuel Macron (28 percent)
  • Marion Maréchal Le Pen (27 percent)
  • Fabien Roussel (25 percent)
  • Bruno Le Maire (24 percent)
  • Gérald Darmanin (23 percent)
  • François Ruffin (22 percent)
  • Elisabeth Borne (21 percent)
  • Jean-Luc Mélenchon (15 percent).
  • Olivier Faure (14 percent)
  • Sandrine Rousseau (13 percent) 

Which politician would you most like to have a beer with, and why? Share your answers in the comment section below

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POLITICS

What does the new government mean for foreigners in France?

France at last has a new government and one of its four main aims is to "control immigration and promote integration" - so what is this likely to mean for foreigners in France, or those hoping to move here some day?

Published: 20 September 2024 10:36 CEST
What does the new government mean for foreigners in France?

After two weeks of intense negotiation, on Thursday evening newly-appointed prime minister Michel Barnier announced that he had succeeded in forming a government.

 He also laid out his four main priorities;

  • Improve the standard of living for the French and the workings of public services, especially schools and healthcare
  • Guarantee security, control immigration and improve integration
  • Encourage businesses and agriculture and build upon the economic attractiveness of France
  • Get public finances under control and reduce debt

He is set to give his Discours de politique générale on October 1st – this is the traditional speech that a prime minister makes laying out the main policy aims of their government.

So what is this likely to mean for foreigners living in France?

Obviously some of these things will have the same effect on foreigners as any other residents of France, since we all use the same healthcare and education systems.

The first challenge for the new government will be a budget that, as Barnier says, “gets public finances under control”. France is facing a ballooning deficit and the threat of a downgrade from ratings agencies if it cannot get spending under control.

Barnier said earlier in the week that he is “discovering that the country’s budgetary situation is very serious” – most people interpreted this as preparing to announce tax hikes.

No details of these plans have been released, but it is thought likely that extra taxes will be on business and the super-rich rather than any increase in income tax or VAT.

Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Renaissance group briefed the press that one of their conditions for joining the new government was a pledge that any tax increases would not target “the middle classes or working French people”.

Immigration

But the strand of government that is most likely to affect foreigners in France, or those hoping to move here some day, is the pledge to “control immigration and promote integration”.

Again there is no detail on this, but the French government’s most recent bill to “promote integration” introduced language tests for certain types of residency card, while raising the language standard required for other processes.

We know that Barnier himself is strongly to the right on the topic of immigration – in his unsuccessful 2022 bid for the Les Républicains presidential nomination he called for a total moratorium on all immigration into France from non-EU countries.

Barnier said he would organise a referendum if elected, asking voters to approve constitutional changes and the ability of parliament to set immigrant quotas each year.

The exact composition of the new government has not been revealed – it is expected “before Sunday” – but we do know that Barnier has appointed several ministers from within the Les Républicains party.

These are reported to include Bruno Retailleau, who sparked outcry with his comments about immigrants in the context of the 2022 riots.

Speaking about the rioters who were arrested, 90 percent of whom were French citizens, he said: “OK, they’re French, but these are French people in their official identity, and unfortunately for the second and third generations (of immigrants), there is a sort of regression towards their ethnic roots.”

Clearly for some politicians, you can never be integrated enough.

New laws?

Although it’s far too early to think of any specific policies – and the government may not last long enough to actually see any laws passed – the debate around France’s recent immigration bill does provide some clues about the goals of right-wing politicians.

The Immigration law that finally passed in January changed – among other things – conditions for certain types of residency card and introduced expanded language tests, a civics test and a declaration of allegiance to ‘French values’ for foreigners living here.

READ ALSO What changes under France’s new immigration bill

However as the bill progressed through parliament, many right-wing lawmakers attempted to add amendments to toughen it up. In the end, most of the amendments were either voted down in parliament or struck out later by the Constitutional Council, but they do provide a guide to right-wing goals.

Among the rejected amendments were;

Migration quotas – the original bill contained nothing about migration quotas, but a section on this was added in the Senate (which is controlled by Les Républicains). The amendment was vague, setting out only the principle that parliament can set migration quotas – the wording of the text talked about ‘economic migration’, suggesting that these quotas would apply only to people coming to France to work, not students or retirees. The quotas would not affect asylum seekers or people arriving on a family reunification visa.

It called for parliament to have an annual debate on migration, with the ‘objective’ of setting quotas or numbers.

This was one of many amendments that was eventually struck out by the Constitutional Council – although on procedural grounds, not because of its content.

Healthcare restrictions – currently undocumented foreigners who are in France for more than three months are entitled to basic healthcare under the Aide medicale de l’Etat, with costs reimbursed by the State for hospital treatment and medication. The amendment proposed a complete ban on this for anyone who is undocumented or in an irregular immigration situation.

Benefit restrictions – currently foreigners in France can qualify for benefits such as housing allowance or certain family benefits after they have been resident for six months, the amendment aimed to increase the qualification period to five years.

Expelling radicalised foreigners – the law that was eventually passed makes it easier to expel radicalised foreigners by removing certain protections, including the restriction that people who came to France aged 13 or under cannot be expelled once they reach adulthood. The amendment aimed toughen this up still further by allowing the expulsion not just of people who are on terror watchlists, but of people who have “committed a grave and deliberate violation of the principles of the French Republic”.

Toughen asylum rules – various amendments aimed to make it easier to expel failed asylum seekers by reducing the amount of time for appeals and allowing a notice to quit the country to be served as soon as a first application is rejected.

Limit family reunification rights – rules around foreigners in France being joined by spouses or family members would also be tightened up under the amendment, with a minimum stay of 24 months before you can be joined by a spouse or family member, and extra financial requirements.

French citizenship for children born in France – currently children who are born in France to foreign parents are automatically given the right to French citizenship once they reach 18 under the droit du sol principle (although in order to do anything practical like get a passport or ID card they still need to apply for a naturalisation certificate). Several amendments proposed that this no longer be an automatic right and children must “express their will” to get citizenship – presumably through an extra admin procedures.

All the immigration measures listed above would apply to non-EU nationals – anyone who needs a visa or carte de séjour to spend more than three months in France.

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