Reuters
Paris
President Francois Hollande’s approval rating has risen, but the vast majority of French voters remain unhappy with his performance, casting doubt on his re-election chances, said an opinion poll published on Saturday.
The Opinionway survey in Le Figaro newspaper said 20% of voters approved of Hollande, five points up from the last such poll in October.
However, three years after taking office, some 79% said they were dissatisfied with the president.
Hollande’s ratings fell to record lows for a French head of state last year, hitting 13% in one September survey.
His standing was given a boost by his handling of Islamist militant attacks in Paris in January, but he still has a long way to go before he can aspire to winning a second term in office at elections due in 2017.
The Opinionway survey said that if a vote were held today, he would not even make it through to the second round run-off.
Instead, the poll suggested the Socialist leader would come in third, with the candidate for the mainstream conservative UMP party seen heading the field and the far-right National Front chief Marine Le Pen set to take second place.
Hollande has not yet said if he will stand for re-election.
The president polled weakest over the economy, with just 14% saying that he was doing a good job tackling unemployment.
France’s jobless rate stands at more than 10% – a constant thorn in the side of the leftist government.
The pollsters interviewed 1,016 people on April 15-16.
Opinionway said the poll had a 2-3 point margin of error.