Nicolas Sarkozy 'most unpopular French President in five decades'

A new French poll has placed Nicolas Sarkozy as the most unpopular President of the five decades since the early days of the Fifth Republic.

Ahead of another week of strikes, petrol shortages and travel delays his popularity rating plummeted at the weekend to only 29 per cent, a drop of three points since last month.

The low announced by BVA Orange L’Express was even lower than the President Sarkozy’s previous Fifth republic record of 32 per cent in 2008.

Sarkozy is polled even more unpopular than General Charles De Gaulle who oversaw the new French constitution in 1958. The General said 'Non' to British membership of the Common market, expelled US army bases, pulled France out of NATO, and refused to resign during the student revolution of May 1968.

After the General came Georges Pompidou, Valery Giscard-d’Estaing, Francois Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac, who all managed to maintain reasonably cordial relations with the electorate.

Signs that Sarkozy’s determination to push through pension reforms and raising retirement age from 60 to 62 may have placed him on a slippery slope emerged last week.

Surprisingly, a poll revealed that 57 per cent of French people support Unions’ and students’ protests and 68 per cent of French people believe the economic policy of his government is bad.

Within the 71 per cent of the population unhappy with Sarkozy’s general policies, 73 per cent of private sector employees and 79 per cent manual workers and service employees said 'Non' to Sarkozy's regime, the telephone poll showed.

Prime Minister Francois Fillon, tipped to be replaced in a cabinet reshuffle next month, has also lost two points in the popularity polls, falling to 45 per cent favourable to his policies.

Fillon has consistently remained ahead of Sarkozy in the popularity polls at the Palais de Matignon, where he lives in Paris with his discreet and popular Welsh born wife Penelope, 54 a native of Llanover.

Clashes: Sarkozy is determined to push through pension reforms and raise retirement age from 60 to 62

Sarkozy’s popularity dipped noticeably during the weeks and months following his marriage to the high profile Carla Bruni, glamorous first lady of France and former girlfriend of Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton and other rockstars.

This summer’s deportation of minority ethnic groups including the Roma gypsies has also earned him the disapproval amongst a significant sector of the population. He is especially unpopular amongst the large groups of French people who voted socialist in the May 2007 Presidential elections.