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* Bids due on Feb. 5 for refinery, France may invest later * Refinery sale latest industrial headache for French leader * Hollande fighting to turn round image as economy stagnates By Elizabeth Pineau and John Irish VAL-DE-REUIL, France, Jan 5 (Reuters) - France will not takeover insolvent Swiss refiner Petroplus' oil refinery inNormandy, but could help the plant financially once a suitablebuyer is found, President Francois Hollande said on Saturday. About 500 jobs at the 161,000 barrels-a-day Petit-Couronnerefinery are at risk, the latest industrial headache for theSocialist leader who has vowed to stem rising unemployment bythe end of the year. "It's difficult to find a serious buyer. We must doeverything to find one," Hollande told reporters after meetingunion leaders in Val-De-Reuil, a town about 110 kilometres (70miles) north-west of Paris. "The state will do its duty, but it cannot take the plantover, and the workers know that," he said. He added the state could at some point provide financing. Petroplus poses a major test for Hollande's government afterit faced criticism over the tactics it used in a two-monthbattle over the future of ArcelorMittal's Florangesteel plant, which unnerved investors in the euro zone's secondlargest economy and confused France's unions. His administration is struggling to stop a haemorrhage ofindustrial jobs which has helped push unemployment to 15-yearhighs, while curbing public spending and raising taxes to helpslash debt in a stagnant economy. A French court set a deadline of Feb. 5 for interestedparties to submit bids for the Petit-Couronne refinery. Shell, which had a six-month oil processing dealwith the troubled plant running to mid-December, has notextended its contract, making the refinery less attractive forbuyers due to expensive restart costs. [ID: nL5E8N4AC2] So far only NetOil, a company led by Middle Easternbusinessman Roger Tamraz, has submitted an offer while 7 othershave filed letters of intent to buy France's oldest refinery. Net Oil's offer includes an oil supply deal with BP and an agreement with Hyundai to upgrade the plant. Union spokesman Yvon Scornet told reporters after themeeting that Hollande had promised to do everything possible topush the project forward, but had given no guarantees. TAKING CHARGE Hollande is trying to win back voters who are increasinglyunhappy over the government's handling of the economy anddisillusioned by communication gaffes. A survey by BVA for I>Tele on Friday showed two-thirds ofrespondents were not convinced by Hollande's New Year's addressaimed at reassuring the country over his policies. Approval ratings for Hollande and Prime Minister Jean-MarcAyrault hit new lows in December. Hollande, seen as letting his ministers lead the fight, hasbeen compared unfavourably with his pugnacious, micro-managingpredecessor Nicolas Sarkozy. However, the president, who appointed a new communicationsadvisor on Thursday, appears to have decided to put himselfdirectly in the firing line promising to carry out at least onevisit a week across France to show his commitment to battlingthe economic crisis. "Today, I have to be more present on the ground," he said."I have to set the example as I am the first to blame. I am notdelegating to anybody else the responsibility of explaining tothe French the policies that I am pushing through."