Sarkozy`s Ratings Jump After Market Turmoil -Poll

Some 46 percent said they were not confident in his abilities, down from 54 percent in the October poll.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has been in the forefront of moves to resolve the global financial crisis, has seen his approval ratings jump over the past month, a CSA opinion poll published on Thursday said.

The survey for Le Parisien newspaper said 47 percent of people had confidence in Sarkozy's ability to tackle the main problems facing France against 40 percent the month before.

Some 46 percent said they were not confident in his abilities, down from 54 percent in the October poll.

Sarkozy organised back-to-back summits of EU leaders in Paris over the past month to draw up a European-wide plan to prop up the banking system and calm market turmoil.

He also made high-profile visits to Canada, China and the United States, winning praise in the local media for his energetic globe-trotting.

Sarkozy's approval ratings plunged in late 2007 and early 2008 on the back of public disdain for his celebrity lifestyle, falling beneath the 30 percent threshold and hitting record lows for a president still in his first year in office.

But the polls have picked up since France took over the rotating presidency of the European Union in July, with voters applauding his regular forays on the international stage and apparently shrugging off the downturn in the domestic economy.