Paris, Jul 13 (IANS): French President Francois Hollande would be "ready" to seek a second five-year term in 2017 despite poor approval ratings and rising public discontent, a leading French daily reported Saturday.
"The determination of Francois Hollande and the risk he takes to get the country out of the economic crisis, to restore public finances and social dialogue will bear fruit," the daily Le Monde quoted the country's Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian as saying, Xinhua reported.
"He will be ready to be a candidate (for 2017 presidential election)," he told the daily.
Last April, the current occupant of the Elysee Palace said he will not run for a second mandate if he won't deliver on the pledge to reverse a long-running rise in unemployment.
With only 18 percent of people satisfied with his policy, Hollande is one of the worst compared to his predecessors at the same point in their terms as unemployment continued to grow, with a record 3.364 million jobseekers recorded in April.
"More there are jobseekers, lower will be Hollande's popularity and he will be judged only on his ability to create more posts and satisfy the growing job demands," Eric Bonnet, director of studies at BVA Opinion, told Xinhua in an earlier interview.