Unemployment in the eurozone rose to a new high in March, according to figures released Wednesday, which come a few days before crucial elections in France and Greece, and which are likely to intensify calls for an easing of the region’s austerity drive. Unemployment in the 17 countries that belong to the eurozone rose to 10.9 percent in March from 10.8 percent in February, according to Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency. In March 2011, the rate was 9.9 percent, a number that illustrates the deterioration of the area’s economy during the past year.