Emmanuel Macron is not so popular among Russians, however respondents do not expect the Russian-French relations to get worse during his presidency.
MOSCOW, May 24, 2017. The Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the results of a survey devoted to the Russian assessments of the results of the French presidential election.
The recent French presidential campaign gained attention of more than half of Russians: the latest survey suggests that 56% of Russians kept track of the campaign; however, only 11% followed closely, whereas the remainder did it occasionally.
According to 58% of respondents, the results of the 2017 French presidential election are “very” or “rather” important to Russia, whereas 35% believe that the results are not important.
Twenty-five percent of Russians predict improvements in the bilateral relations during the Macron’s presidency (soon after the Trump’s election 46% of Russians expressed hopes for further improvements in Russia-US relations). As the latest survey shows, most of Russians favored Marine Le Pen who lost the election. However, according to 9% of respondents, no setback is expected. Many respondents (42%) think that the relations will stay at the same level.
Most of Russians have neutral or negative assessments of the bilateral relations. Thirty percent perceive the relationship between the two countries as “normal and peaceful”; 29% say they are “cool”; a further 8% have more categorical answers. On the other hand, 13% assess the bilateral contacts as “friendly”; 8% - as “good-neighborly”.
The VCIOM-Sputnik Russian nationwide survey was conducted on May 12-13, 2017, using stratified dual-frame random sample based on a complete list of landline and mobile phone numbers operating in Russia, and involved 1,200 respondents. Russians aged 18 and over took part in the survey. The data were weighted according to selection probability and social and demographic characteristics. The margin of error at a 95% confidence level does not exceed 3.5%. In addition to sampling error, minor changes in question wording and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork can introduce bias into the survey.
The presidential campaign was held in France. Did you keep track of the campaign? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | ||
| IV.2017* | V.2017 |
Yes, very attentively | 10 | 11 |
Yes, from time to time | 45 | 45 |
No, I didn’t | 45 | 44 |
Don’t know | 0 | 0 |
* In April, the question was “The Presidential election campaign is on in France. Are you keeping track of it or not?”
In your opinion, are the results of the French presidential election important for Russia? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | ||
| IV.2017* | V.2017 |
Yes, very important | 21 | 19 |
Rather important | 36 | 39 |
Not very important | 26 | 28 |
Not at all important | 9 | 7 |
Don’t know | 8 | 7 |
Emmanuel Macron is a new French president. In your opinion, will Macron’s presidency have any impact on the Russian-French relations? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | |
| Total respondents |
Yes, the relations will substantially improve | 6 |
Yes, the relations will slightly improve | 19 |
No, nothing will change | 42 |
Yes, the relations will slightly deteriorate | 8 |
Yes, the relations will considerably deteriorate | 1 |
Don’t know | 24 |
How would you assess the current state of the Russian-French relations? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | ||||||
| Total respondents | Aged 18-24 | Aged 25-34 | Aged 35-44 | Aged 45-59 | Aged 60 and over |
Friendly | 13 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 15 |
Good, good-neighborly | 8 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
Normal, peaceful | 30 | 49 | 32 | 30 | 30 | 19 |
Cool | 29 | 15 | 23 | 33 | 30 | 37 |
Tense | 6 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 8 |
Hostile | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Don’t know | 12 | 5 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 11 |
Note: Using materials from the site www.wciom.ru or wciom.com, as well as distributed by VCIOM, the reference to the source (or hyperlink for the electronic media) is obligatory!