Most French Support Continued Assistance to Ukraine, Sending Peacekeepers: Media Reports
A recent survey by the Elabe Institute has shown that roughly two-thirds of the French people favor maintaining or increasing aid to Ukraine. The poll was conducted on March 4 and reported by BFM TV.
The results of the survey showed that:
* 64% of respondents want France to continue providing assistance to Ukraine.
* 20% believe that the amount of aid must be increased, while 44% think it should remain at its current level.
* Only 18% of respondents believe support must be reduced, and 17% say it should be terminated.
Support for continued aid is higher among voters from the pro-Macron centrist coalition Ensemble and the left-wing New Popular Front. However, voters from the right-wing National Rally (FN) mostly want to reduce or terminate aid.
France has already allocated around 4.9 billion euros ($5.3 billion) in military assistance to Ukraine as of December 2024.
Many European leaders have expressed ongoing support for Ukraine amid U.S. President Donald Trump‘s push for a swift deal to end the war. However, some allies fear that they will have to shoulder the economic and security burdens of Ukraine’s post-war recovery.
Deploying French soldiers to Ukraine while hostilities are ongoing is not popular among the French people, with 68% opposing it. However, 67% support sending peacekeeping troops after a peace agreement with Moscow has been signed.
Regarding NATO membership for Ukraine, 40% of respondents favored it after the war, and 30% now. Some 35% favored Ukraine joining the European Union after the war, and 31% favored it now.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth‘s comments on Feb. 12 that a return to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders was “an unrealistic objective” have been met with opposition from some European leaders.