PARIS, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy's approval rating dropped two points to 54 percent compared with December, according to a poll for the French newspaper Liberation.

    According to the poll published by the newspaper on Monday, just 13 percent of those questioned by Paris-based pollsters thought "very positively" of Sarkozy, down four points from December and Sarkozy's negative ratings fell by five points to 44 percent.

    In the Liberation poll, only 34 percent of the respondents believed the French leader had taken measures which are "likely to improve purchasing power" among ordinary French people.

    Meanwhile, 60 percent of the respondents thought Sarkozy "projected a good image of France on the international stage."

    The survey to 1,003 people had been conducted by telephone on Jan. 4-5.