PARIS — French President Francois Hollande's popularity has fallen by two percentage points to 59 percent, a poll published on the Journal du Dimanche's website showed late Saturday. The survey by pollster Ipsos was conducted between June 14 and June 22, a few days before and after the second round on June 17 of France's parliamentary election, which gave a large victory to Hollande's Socialist Party. Hollande's prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault had an approval rating of 65 percent, unchanged on the previous. The government plans welfare and civil service job cuts next year to cut up to 30 billion euros ($38 billion) from the budget deficit, calculating that tax rises on the rich will convince the less well off to accept their share of the pain. — Reuters
