PARIS — The living dead have long haunted French politics. Some resurrect themselves after near-death experiences in politics, while others continue to appear politically alive even when they have actually died.

France’s current president, François Hollande, falls into the second category. Mr. Hollande still occupies the magnificent gilded Élysée Palace, still gives speeches attended by important people and still attends ribbon-cuttings.

Yet his popularity ratings have hovered in the low teens and below for months, and polls show he would easily be eliminated early in presidential voting next year.

Virtually no commentator expects him to win a second term, few in the public or his Socialist Party seem to want him to run again, even though he has yet to indicate that he won’t, inspiring both dread and paralysis. Next year’s presidential election is seen as the right’s to lose.