Paris - If nothing else, French President Nicolas Sarkozy's tenure as head of the European Union has done wonders for his popularity, according to a poll made public on Wednesday.

In the survey by the BVA institute, 48 per cent of respondents said they had a favourable opinion of Sarkozy while 47 per cent said they did not.

This was the first time since at least the beginning of the year that those having a good opinion of Sarkozy outnumbered those who did not.

This impressive rebound can be attributed almost exclusively to Sarkozy's handling of the economic crisis as EU head.

In April, just two months before France took over the rotating six-month EU presidency, only 32 per cent of the French had thought Sarkozy was doing a good job, a modern-day record low for a French president. (dpa)