PARIS, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- French President Francois Hollande saw his approval rating improved in December from a month earlier, the first rise in months which may help the country's most unpopular leader to end the year with a good note despite a negative record, a survey showed on Tuesday.

An Odoxa poll published for the weekly magazine l'Express and France inter radio showed Hollandes' score at 21 percent, up by five percentage points from November.

However, Hollande's ratings remain far below those of his predecessors with 78 percent of voters still doubt he can translate his economic and social pledges into concrete deeds, the pollster said.

Despite the clock is ticking on Hollande's recovery plans as the economy sputters along with an ever increasing jobless rate in mid term, the president stands firm to work until the end of his mandate in 2017 to defend France's interests, revive its growth and ameliorate its finances.

Odoxa poll questioned 1,002 respondents on Dec. 11 and 12.