French: To take to TV waves amid worsening economy

French President Francois Hollande is to appear on national television Thursday night to address some of the worsening economic problems facing the nation and also to broach other policy issues, Hollande's office announced. The President will appear in a 45-minute interview on the government-owned "France 2" television in what is hoped will be a "pedagogical" exercise to explain the government's much-criticised economic policies. Hollande, whose popularity has dropped to 31 percent - the lowest of any president at this stage in his five-year term - is hoping to better explain rising unemployment and a fall-off in purchasing power and shaken consumer confidence. The French leader, who was elected in May 2012, will argue his aim and policies to steer the economy out of troubled waters have not yet had time to make an impact and he will probably reaffirm his objective to turn things around by the end of this year. He is also likely to promise more regular media appearances to inform the public about policies and the direction for France under his stewardship. In recent days, France has reported zero economic growth in 2012 and is facing a similar performance if not worse in early 2013, and unemployment figures this week show a worsening trend, with about 3.2 million people out of work, officially. This is near record levels not seen since 1997 and purchasing power has fallen for the first time since 1984. Critics among the Conservative opposition here are regular and to be expected, but now there are growing grumblings among Hollande's Socialist supporters and parties further to the left are virulent in their attacks on the President.