PARIS - French President Nicolas Sarkozy's approval ratings remain near record lows, a poll showed on Sunday, as he prepared to outline his reform plans to a sceptical public in a prime-time television appearance.
The Ifop poll in weekend newspaper Journal du Dimanche showed Sarkozy's approval at 38 percent, up one point since December partly because the government's swift aid for quake-hit Haiti was seen as positive.
But a row over the salary of the head of state electricity group EDF continued to weigh on ratings before regional elections in March, making it more difficult for Sarkozy to sell his contested reform policies.
"It's about explaining the link between the reforms that have already been implemented and those planned for the rest of his term," a source close to the president said of the TV package, a mix of interviews and chats with voters, on Monday.
A separate poll showed the French want him to talk about unemployment and pensions during that appearance. Reform of the pension system will be among his thorniest projects this year.
Labour Minister Xavier Darocs has already said French people will have to be prepared to work longer and delay retirement if pensions are to be financed in coming decades.
Over the past months, a series of spats and scandals has distracted voters and lawmakers from Sarkozy's reform plans.
Public outcry over reports that Henri Proglio was still drawing a salary from Veolia, the environmental services group he led before moving to run EDF in November, has proved damaging to Sarkozy.
Proglio agreed last week under pressure to give up the 450,000 euro (560, 000 pounds) salary he was drawing from Veolia, where he has retained the title of non-executive chairman.
The pay package row revived anger over a plan last year to install Sarkozy's undergraduate son, Jean Sarkozy, as head of a powerful public agency in charge of Paris's business district.
The president's ratings have slid since the uproar over his son, approaching the low of 35 percent registered by Ifop in May 2008, a year after Sarkozy took office.
Sixty-one percent of the 1,880 participants in the new survey, carried out between January 14-22, said they were dissatisfied with Sarkozy.
In a separate survey by TNS Sofres/Logica for radio Europe 1 published on Sunday, unemployment and pensions topped the list of desired topics for Sarkozy's television appearance, followed by purchasing power and healthcare.
Although the government's handling of the economy, a key reason for Sarkozy's poll dip in 2008, is now viewed comparatively favourably, concerns over soaring state debt and unemployment continue to weigh.
Ifop consultant and political scientist Jean-Luc Parodi told the Journal du Dimanche that some respondents had a positive view of Sarkozy's response to the Haiti crisis.
France immediately flew rescue workers to Haiti after the quake struck and Sarkozy has called for an international donor conference to rebuild the shattered country.
France has pledged 20 million euros in aid, half of which came in response to an appeal for funds from the United Nations.
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