After nearly a month of slumber, Paris Lis stirring again as tanned ministers return to work from the summer break. For the newish Socialist government, the shock has been double. Not only is it confronting a cascade of bad news, but the popularity of Francois Hollande, the president, and Jean-Marc Ayrault, his prime minister, has taken a tumble, falling below 50% for the first time. In one poll, Mr Hol-lande's rating is down 11 points from last month. In another it dropped to 49%, way below the 61% that his predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, enj oyed at the same point in 2007.
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