Paris - The popularity of the French Prime Minister, Mr Lionel Jospin, fell five points over the past month while that of President Jacques Chirac edged three points higher, an opinion poll released yesterday said.
However the Sofres poll for Le Figaro newspaper showed that the conservative president remained less popular than his Socialist prime minister, with 44 per cent of French voters backing Mr Chirac against 54 per cent support for Mr Jospin. The poll showed that Mr Jospin's disapproval rating rose to 43 from 39 per cent. Three per cent of those questioned declined to answer.