The French remain largely in favor of keeping troops in Mali in the face of terrorist threats, according to an IFOP poll released on Monday, a day of national tribute to the 13 French soldiers who died last week. Nearly six in ten French (58%) approve the continuation of the action of the contingent alongside the Malian forces (of which 42% are rather favorable and 16% "quite"), according to this poll published Monday by the Letter Expansion. Politically, it is at the center of the chessboard (where are classified LRM and Modem) that the support to the French military action is the most pronounced, with 77% of favorable opinions. The most hostile are in the ranks of the National Rally and unsubstantial France (48% for).
"There is an obvious national cohesion issue"
"We have no erosion phenomenon, let alone a reversal of opinion, while the military intervention was in the long term," says Jerome Fourquet, director of the department Opinon and Strategies at IFOP. The thirteen soldiers were killed in an accidental collision between two helicopters during a fight. The French army had not suffered such losses since the attack on the French headquarters Drakkar in Beirut in 1983 (58 dead). The tragedy has revived the issues around the French commitment in the Sahel, where the security situation continues to worsen. But only the party of Jean-Luc Mélenchon openly demands the return of the troops. "There is an obvious issue of national cohesion" during Monday's tribute, adds Jérôme Fourquet. "But Emmanuel Macron will not have to recall the why of the French military presence, there is no battle of opinion to lead".
This survey was conducted on Thursday and Friday according to the quota method with a sample of 1,004 representative people.