IFOP – Eye on Islamism

French poll exposes alarming surge in antisemitism in schools Survey reveals Muslim students disproportionately drive tensions, with Jewish students as primary targets.

March 11, 2025 Hélène de Lauzun

(European Conservative) A recent survey reveals a worrying explosion of antisemitism among sections of French youth. According to the survey, Jew-hatred is clearly thriving in recent immigrant populations of the Muslim faith, contaminating an entire age group. The Institut français d’opinion publique […]

EU leaders must address alienation of Muslim voters, report warns Political parties urged to foster a more diverse membership and call out xenophobia

September 25, 2024 Sunniva Rose

(National-UAE) The recent European Parliament election and the fallout from the war in Gaza has exposed the under-representation of some groups on the continent, including non-whites and Muslims, a report has found. Public opinion of the EU is overwhelmingly positive but leaders […]

France’s Muslim voters fear far-right election win

June 19, 2024 Claire Gallen

(AFP) Muslim voters are increasingly worried about the prospect of a far-right victory less than two weeks before France’s snap parliamentary elections, fearing the possible restrictions that could follow. For Sarah, there’s a “real risk” of seeing the National Rally (RN) win […]

New poll registers strong support for Hamas among French Muslims

December 18, 2023 Ben Cohen

(Algemeiner) Almost half of French Muslims consider the Oct. 7 Hamas pogrom in southern Israel to have been “an act of resistance against colonization” while nearly one in five expressed sympathy for the atrocities, according to a new survey published on Monday […]

‘Clash of civilizations’ looms over EU elections Far-right parties are cashing in on decades of campaigning against Islam and migration, as they move to the center ground.

December 1, 2023 Clea Caulcutt and Nicholas Vinocur

(Politico) Geert Wilders may be just the tip of the iceberg. Following the anti-Islam politician’s shock election win in the Netherlands, European elites are nervously scanning the political landscape for signs of what’s to come — including further surprise wins from far-right […]

Macron’s abaya ban nods to the right, splits the left But the prohibition on the Islamic garment in schools enters tricky legal territory.

August 30, 2023 Clea Caulcutt

(Politico) With the ban on abayas in schools, French President Emmanuel Macron is killing two birds with one stone: He sends a signal to the right and divides the left. But he also risks opening a Pandora’s box. The decision to forbid […]

France’s anti-immigration far right gets boost from riots over police killing of teen

July 12, 2023 Elaine Ganley

(AP) Widespread riots in France sparked by the police killing of a teenager with North African roots have revealed the depth of discontent roiling poor neighborhoods — and given a new platform to the increasingly emboldened far right. The far right’s anti-immigration […]

Over half of French teachers censor themselves to avoid religious backlash

December 11, 2022 Chris Tomlinson

(Breitbart) Over half of French teachers practice self-censorship when discussing issues of secularism, according to a newly released poll, in order to avoid possible religious backlash and protests. The poll, taken by the French firm Ifop, revealed that 52 per cent of […]

Faced with criticism, Le Pen allies tone down rhetoric on hijab ban

April 18, 2022 Tassilo Hummel

(Reuters) A planned hijab ban if French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen is elected would come “little by little” and be determined by lawmakers, her allies said on Monday, marking a shift in tone less than a week ahead of the final […]

Macron clashes with Le Pen over Islamic headscarf ban

April 15, 2022 Stuart Williams

(AFP) President Emmanuel Macron has clashed with his rival Marine Le Pen over her plan to ban women from wearing the Islamic headscarf in public, with an eye on the votes of Muslims in the second round of elections. Le Pen on […]

French government sets up laicité office to better protect secularism

July 15, 2021 Sarah Elzas

(Radio France) The French government has created an office of laicité in an effort to better control how state secularism — one of the fundamental values of the French Republic — is taught and transmitted. The Interministerial Committee replaces the Observatoire de […]

French generals cause backlash with ‘civil war’ warning

April 27, 2021 Clare Byrne and Didier Lauras

(AFP) The French government has threatened to punish active soldiers who signed an open letter by 25 retired generals warning President Emmanuel Macron the country is headed for “civil war.” A number of serving defence force members are believed to have signed […]

Poll: French pupils oppose law banning religious symbols in schools A poll shows high school students hold a different view on ‘laïcité’ compared to French adults.

March 3, 2021 Jules Darmanin

(Politico) A majority of French high schoolers believe they and their classmates should be allowed to wear religious symbols such as a hijab or a kippah, a poll has found. “Conspicuous religious symbols” have been banned in schools since 2004 as part […]

France: No Samuel Paty school after backlash over name change A French town won't rename a school after Samuel Paty — who was slain by an Islamist extremist — following backlash from teachers and parents. The move marks a sign of deeper divisions in French society.

February 8, 2021 Lisa Louis

(Deutsche Welle) No one at the school “The Eucalypts” in the village of Ollioules, near the Mediterranean coast in southern France, wants to talk to the media anymore. Sandra Olivier, maths teacher and member of the teachers’ union SNES-FSU, turned down DW’s […]

Deflection of religious debate in French classrooms on the rise following Paty beheading

January 6, 2021 David Coffey

(Radio France) To avoid possible incidents in the classroom, 49% of teachers in France say they have self-censored their teaching methods when dealing with religious issues. According to a survey carried out by Ifop published this Wednesday, for the Jean-Jaurès and Charlie […]

France teacher’s killer had ‘contact’ with jihadist in Syria

October 22, 2020 Sylvie Maligorne and Jürgen Hecker

(AFP) The investigation into the murder of a French teacher for showing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in class turned to Syria on Thursday, where the killer had a jihadist contact, a source close to the case said. Seven people have been […]

France: One in four young Muslims refuse to condemn Charlie Hebdo terror killings

September 3, 2020 Chris Tomlinson

(Breitbart) A survey released by the Institut Français d’Opinion Publique (Ifop) has revealed that 26 per cent of French Muslims under the age of 25 refuse to condemn the 2015 Charlie Hebdo terror killings. The study, which was undertaken in partnership with the […]

Muslim headscarf debate divides France, in climate of hate

October 30, 2019 Elaine Ganley

(AP) When a far-right French official disrupted a regional council meeting to demand that a Muslim woman accompanying a group of schoolchildren be ordered to remove her headscarf, “in the name of our secular principles,” her own child buried his head in […]

Poll: 61 per cent of French say Islam ‘incompatible’ with society

October 29, 2019 Chris Tomlinson

(Breitbart) An Ifop survey has discovered that nearly two-thirds of French people, or 61 per cent, believe that Islam is “incompatible with the values of French society.” The results are an eight per cent increase compared to a previous study released in […]

School trip hijab clash sparks new secularism row in France

October 15, 2019 Jérémy Marot

(AFP) A new row over secularism and the wearing of the Islamic hijab in public buildings has erupted in France after a far-right politician asked a woman accompanying her son and other children on a school trip to remove her headscarf. The […]

Poll: 46% of French Muslims believe Sharia law should be applied in country The survey also shows that among French-born Muslims, 18% believe Sharia should be the adopted law

September 19, 2019 Unlisted Author

(i24) At least 46% of foreign-born Muslims in France want to adopt Sharia law into the country’s legal system, reveals a poll conducted by IFOP (French Institute for Public Opinions) for Le Point magazine. The survey also indicates that among French-born Muslims, […]