PARIS, January 30, 2008 - A new poll on Wednesday showed French President
Nicolas Sarkozy's approval rating down to 41 percent, its lowest level since
he took office eight months ago.
   The TNS-Sofres poll showed 55 percent of respondents say they do not trust
the French president, who took office on a promise to bring in sweeping
reforms.
   A total of 41 percent said they still trust him, even though this
represented a drop from 49 percent in the last survey taken by the polling
firm earlier this month.
   The poll to be published in Le Figaro Magazine on Saturday also confirmed
that inflation, unemployment and spending power were the top concerns of
French voters who will vote in March for municipal elections.
   Sarkozy earlier this month fell into negative ratings for the first time
since taking office in May.
   The drop came at a time when his romance with Italian ex-model Carla Bruni
was grabbing headlines, prompting analysts to say that voters felt the
president was neglecting their day-to-day concerns.

AFP