Francois Hollande abandons plan to strip terrorists of French citizenship after idea is rejected by parliament

Constitutional reform needs the approval of three fifths of both houses of parliament

Francois Hollande blamed the opposition for the failure to change the constitution but members of his own party objected to the move (Getty)

French president Francois Hollande has abandoned plans to strip convicted terrorists of their citizenship following the pledge he made in the days following the Paris attacks.

Although the measure is popular with voters, the constitutional reform did not win the necessary support from both houses of the French parliament.

Mr Hollande declared a state of emergency following the string of co-ordinated terror attacks on the capital in November which killed 130 people.

Martial law, which has given French police and intelligence services greater powers to arrest and detain people suspected of terrorism, was supposed to last just three months but has been extended by the French parliament.

But Mr Hollande was also forced to abandon plans to change the constitutional rules governing the state of emergency and has blamed the opposition despite many people in his own party being opposed to the changes.

Mr Hollande announced the plans following the terror attacks on Paris where 130 people were killed (EPA)

Constitutional changes require the approval of three-fifths of the combined houses of parliament.

He said: “A compromise appears out of reach.

"Parts of the opposition have been hostile to a revision of the constitution. I deplore this attitude, because we have to do anything we can under these serious circumstances."

The move is likely to further damage his chances of being reelected when the country goes to polls at the 2017 presidential election.

A poll by Ipsos-Sopra Steria for French newspaper Le Monde, conducted before the announcement, found that the Socialist politician would win just 16 per cent of the vote in the first round - down four points from last month.

This would put him in third place and eliminate him from the second round run off.

Marine Le Pen of the far-right Front National came top of the poll on 27 per cent followed by Nicolas Sarkozy of the centre-right on 21 per cent.

Additional reporting by AP