A beleaguered Nicolas Sarkozy hopes to use a prime-time TV appearance this week to claw back public support after polls showed a majority of French people think his first year in office has been a failure.

The anniversary has been marred by government infighting, policy U-turns and record low opinion polls, with the public confused over what Sarkozy's critics call jumbled and piecemeal reforms.

A survey published yesterday by the daily Libration found that 59% of people saw Sarkozy's first year as a failure. This followed a poll for the Journal du Dimanche that broke 50-year records with the lowest approval ratings registered by a modern president after a year in office. In a bruising verdict on the man who styled himself as the only person brave enough to radically reform France and restore its greatness, 79% felt he had done nothing to "improve the situation of France and the French".