French President Nicolas Sarkozy's approval ratings have sunk to near record lows, a poll showed on Sunday, amid frustration over political mistakes and rising employment one month before regional elections.

A poll by Ifop for the weekend newspaper Journal du Dimanche showed approval of Sarkozy at 36 percent, down 2 points from a month earlier and close to an all-time low of 35 percent in May 2008, a year after he took office.

Workers and civil servants showed the highest level of dissatisfaction with Sarkozy against a background of rising unemployment and debt and plans to reform the pensions system, one of this year's thorniest projects.

Respondents depicted Sarkozy as a divisive figure, the paper said, adding that political dramas such as a court case involving his rival, former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, and a divisive debate on national identity had alienated voters.

"(Sarkozy) creates controversy after controversy ... whereas the rise in unemployment is more serious," said one participant quoted in the Journal du Dimanche.

Sixty-three percent of the 1,876 participants in the survey, carried out between Feb 11-19, said they were dissatisfied with Sarkozy.

"He trips up over everything he does," said another participant.

Sarkozy -- whose centre-right UMP party faces a trouncing in the regional elections -- has seen his ratings slide since his attempt last year to make his student son head of a powerful public agency in charge of Paris's business district.


Reuters