Imperialist Hollande’s popularity dropped in March: Poll

French President Francois Hollande’s popularity has plummeted in March, according to an opinion poll to be published on Monday.

The poll, carried out by pollster OpinionWay for newspaper Metro and broadcaster LCI from March 9 to 14, found that 67 percent of the French were dissatisfied with the Socialist president’s performance, AFP reported on Sunday.

The survey also found that less than a third of the 1,010 people polled were happy with the president’s performance.

The opinion poll showed that Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault’s popularity also dropped compared with the last month, with 62 percent of the respondents saying they were dissatisfied, and 31 percent responding they were satisfied.

On February 28, 2013, a TNS Sofres poll for the French Le Figaro magazine revealed that Hollande rated as the least popular French president since 1981.

Socialist voters who propelled Hollande into office in May 2012 are now questioning his government’s handling of an economy teetering near recession, a series of industrial layoffs and joblessness at a 15-year high.