Poll: Sarkozy's support slips below 50 percent after strikes, riots

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Source: AP

PARIS (AP) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy's public support has slipped below 50 percent, according to a poll released Thursday, after protracted transport strikes and amid growing pessimism about France's future.

Forty-nine percent of respondents in a poll by TNS-Sofres said they trusted the president to resolve the country's problems, while 49 percent said they did not. A month ago, 53 percent of respondents said they trusted his abilities.

Sarkozy's approval ratings remained high for months after his election in May, but have steadily declined this fall as he has launched several difficult reform plans.

Over the past month, rail workers, civil servants and university students have staged strikes and protests against his plans to make the French economy more competitive _ and less protective _ and streamline bureaucracy.



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