(dpa) - Less than one week before the first electoral test of his administration, French President Nicolas Sarkozy's popularity continues to plunge, according to a poll published on Monday.
The poll, which was carried out by the LH2 institute for the daily Liberation, found that only 37 per cent of French adults had a positive opinion of Sarkozy, a drop of 4 per cent over one month ago. On the other hand, 59 per cent of the 1,004 people contacted in the survey said they had a negative opinion of him.
Significantly, the popularity of Sarkozy's prime minister, Francois Fillon, continued to climb, with 53 per cent of respondents saying they viewed him positively, a rise of 6 per cent over last month.
According to the poll, more than half of French adults believe that Sarkozy does not possess "a personality necessary to fulfil the function of president," while only 38 per cent do.
Nearly three out of four of those contacted in the poll said that Sarkozy does not control himself enough, and nearly the same amount said that he flaunts his private life too much.
In addition, Sarkozy and his government received bad notes for their performance in increasing purchasing power, a prime concern of the French, and in the fight against unemployment.
The negative poll figures suggest that the president and his UMP party could be punished in the upcoming municipal elections, which take place on March 9 and 16.
The LH2 poll found that 37 per cent of those asked said they wanted to see the president and his government punished in the vote, against only 25 per cent who wanted to support them.