France's Nicolas Sarkozy under pressure, faces poll wipeout

French president Nicolas Sarkozy suffered fresh poll woes at the weekend, with his popularity hitting new lows and his political allies forecast to suffer heavy defeat at this month's local elections.

The regional vote, held over two rounds on March 14 and 21, is the last major ballot box test ahead of the 2012 presidential election and worries about the state of the anaemic economy look certain to weigh on the chances of the ruling centre-right.

A CSA opinion poll in Le Parisien daily showed Sarkozy's approval rating down 4 points in a month at 36 percent -- the lowest level since he won power in 2007.

A separate CSA poll predicted leftwing groups would win a combined 52 percent of the vote at the local elections against a meagre 28 percent for centre-right and rightist parties. 

Politicians on both sides said the economy was weighing on voters' minds, with data last week showing the unemployment rate hitting 10 percent in France for the first time in a decade.

More alarming still for the government, a record 25.3 percent of males aged 15 to 24 were registered as unemployed.

"The government's strategy has led to more poverty and more unemployment, so the regional elections have come at the right moment," Socialist party spokesman Benoit Hamon told Canal+ television on Sunday.

The Socialists already control 20 out of France's 22 mainland regions and a new, resounding victory this month could heal some of the deep, internal rifts that condemned the party to defeat at recent national elections.

Sarkozy under fire                                                     

It is also likely to buoy rare, dissenting figures on the right, such as former prime minister Dominique de Villepin, who is eyeing a possible challenge to Sarkozy in 2012.                                           

"A positive trend is opening up for all those who see themselves as alternatives to Nicolas Sarkozy, both on the left and the right," said political analyst Stephane Rozes.

Sarkozy has suffered a string of setbacks in recent months, his authority dented by internal party dissent, allegations of nepotism, a controversial debate on national identity and increasing concerns about ballooning debt and deficit levels.

He has tried to stay aloof from regional campaigning, sending his sturdy prime minister, Francois Fillon, into the firing line, but this policy has not done him any favours.

Even though the centre-right is floundering, Fillon himself has won plaudits for his calm, steady manner, and his own popularity rating is consistently higher than Sarkozy''s -- down just one point in February to 42 percent according to CSA.                                           

One mainstream, centre-right news magazine splashed the prime minister on its cover this week with the headline "President Fillon" -- a barb aimed directly at Sarkozy, who is criticised by opponents as hyperactive and confrontational.

When the right was routed at the last regional election in 2004, the then-president Jacques Chirac responded with a cabinet reshuffle. This time around, Sarkozy's allies have played down the prospect of a major ministerial shake-up.

"This is not a parliamentary election," said Xavier Bertrand, secretary general of Sarkozy's UMP party.

"Whatever the result, one thing is sure: the president, the prime minister, the government and the ruling majority will keep as their absolute priority the economic recovery and continue the reforms that the French need," he told Le Parisien.