Hollande struggles to convince French on economic policy François Hollande faces a tough spring as efforts to revive France's stalled economy and the president's flagging ratings appear to have made little impression on the electorate. An Ifop survey published on Sunday showed that most voters found the Socialist president unconvincing on 10 out of 12 key issues. The findings underscored similar results in other polls taken since the president made a much-heralded television appearance late last week. The latest poll, published in the Journal du Dimanche newspaper, showed a firm majority was behind France's military intervention in Mali and a narrow majority in favour of the president's move to legalise same-sex marriage, an issue that has provoked big public protests. But on all the main economic issues weighing on the president, including the eurozone crisis, reducing the budget deficit and improving competitiveness, Mr Hollande was marked as suspect. On unemployment, now above 10 per cent of the workforce and the biggest political headache, the score against him was 70 per cent. Even on his once-popular flagship election campaign promise to impose a 75 per cent marginal tax rate on incomes above €1m, the president was found to be unconvincing. Mr Hollande tried to keep the tax alive in his television interview after France's constitutional council rejected the levy. The president said the tax would be paid by companies instead of individuals. Sticking to the levy was a clear attempt to shore up support from the left as his government starts to tackle issues such as pension and social welfare reform, needed to help reduce public spending and cut the budget deficit. The scale of that task was exposed on Friday when official figures showed that France missed its EU-agreed budget deficit target in 2012: it is poised to do so again this year. With the economy forecast to remain flat, pressure has grown on Paris to accelerate structural reforms to deal with the public finances and stimulate some growth. Mr Hollande said moves to stem a looming €20bn pension deficit would include longer pension contributions; he warned that the better-off would see cuts in their child benefit payments; the president promised some reductions in capital gains taxes, which had only recently been increased; and a "simplification shock" to cut red tape that was hindering business. The president insisted that the government's task has been compounded by a deeper than expected decline in the eurozone economy. Mr Hollande said he was committed to pushing through public spending cuts and other reforms. However, a tendency to send mixed messages has apparently confused voters. Jean-Marc Ayrault, the prime minister, said in an interview with the French journal JDD that the legal minimum pension age of 62 would not be raised. Mr Hollande - and his new budget minister, Bernard Cazeneuve - have also started talking about the need for budgetary rigour while continuing to decry the German-inspired austerity that the president campaigned against. The government, anxious to avoid street protests, is also treading cautiously as it works to keep onside the left wing of the Socialist party and trade unions. A commission will produce a report on pension reform in June, to be followed by talks involving employers and unions, with decisions not expected until the back end of the year. Mr Hollande's move to make companies pay the 75 per cent tax rate drew a stinging response from Thibault Lanxade, chief executive of Aqoba, a payments system provider, and a candidate to be the next head of Medef, the employers" federation. "The president is leading a policy of division and is pushing opinion against business leaders who are the essential partners for restarting growth," he said. Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front party that is trying to capitalise on the government's weakness, jumped on the president's assertion in the television interview that he was using a full "box of tools" to tackle unemployment. "You can't rely on little responses pulled out of a little DIY toolbox," she scoffed.