Macron's ratings plunge amid mass protests

A month of "yellow vest" protests have taken a further toll on the popularity of French President Emmanuel Macron, a new poll showed yesterday.

Around 66,000 protesters turned out again on Saturday on the fifth round of anti-government demonstrations, which sprung up over diesel taxes last month.

The figure was about half the number of the previous weekend, suggesting momentum was waning and the most acute political crisis of Macron's 19-month presidency was coming to an end.

A major poll by the Ifop group published in Journal du Dimanche newspaper showed Macron's approval had slipped another two points in the last month, to 23 percent. The proportion of people who declared themselves "very dissatisfied" by his leadership jumped by six points to 45 percent.