Paris, Oct 30 (IANS) 

A new opinion poll has revealed that Francois Hollande has become France’s most unpopular president on record, Press TV reported Wednesday.

Conducted by market research firm BVA, the survey found only 26 percent of French people having a positive opinion of Hollande who is grappling with a high unemployment rate and tax hikes. 

This is for the first time that a poll by BVA has shown a French president’s popularity rating at below 30 percent. Former president Nicolas Sarkozy had a 30 percent popularity rating at his lowest point during the economic crisis, says the marketing research firm. 

Hollande’s popularity began to fall soon after he became president in May 2012. 

The French president’s approval rating eroded further in the past weeks after he offered to let a deported Roma girl return to France without her family. 

Hollande’s government has increased taxes and implemented several reforms and spending cuts in an effort to lower the country's huge debt burden. However, the measures have proven unproductive since the financial crisis in the eurozone has not been resolved and the bloc is still bogged down in recession.