French President Mr Nicolas Sarkozy's popularity fell sharply in the past month, especially among core conservative voters, following criticism of his economic record and private life, a poll released on yesterday showed.
The IFOP poll for weekly Journal du Dimanche said 47 per cent of people had a positive opinion of Mr Sarkozy, compared with 52 per cent in December, leaving him less popular than his Prime Minister for the first time since his election last May.
Prime Minister Francois Fillon edged up to 50 per cent from 49 per cent in the previous monthly survey.
Coming two months before local elections, it was the first time Mr Sarkozy had fallen below 50 percent in the monthly IFOP poll, confirming the results of another survey last week.
Political analysts say Mr Sarkozy's popularity has stumbled since he cast doubt on one key campaign pledge -- boosting the spending power of ordinary individuals -- at a New Year's news conference, saying state coffers were empty.
The head of BVA pollsters, Mr Jerome Sainte-Marie, said last week voters were especially concerned about their purchasing power and did not believe Mr Sarkozy had lived up to his pre-election promise to be "the president of purchasing power".
Mr Sarkozy has also raised eyebrows among older voters in mainly Catholic France with his whirlwind and very public romance with supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni.
The biggest drop in popularity since December was among people aged between 50 and 64, down 8 percentage points to 43 per cent, according to the IFOP poll.