French Lack Confidence in Macron Virus Effort, Poll Shows

A majority of French people lack confidence in the government’s ability to deal effectively with the coronavirus pandemic or manage the vaccination campaign, even after President Emmanuel Macron accelerated efforts to distribute the shots, according to a survey in newspaper Journal du Dimanche.

The percentage of those lacking confidence in the management of the crisis stood at 62%, according to the survey by Ifop for the newspaper, little changed from readings earlier this month and in December. The poll of 1,028 people conducted Thursday and Friday found that 63% doubted the handling of the inoculation effort.

Macron and Prime Minister Jean Castex have come under criticism for the slow start to vaccinations since they began Dec. 27. Government officials vowed to speed up the process and said Saturday that 100,000 people will have been vaccinated by the end of the weekend.