(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Most people in France support a decision by Nicolas Sarkozy to return the country to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as a full member, according to a poll by Ifop published in Paris Match. 58 per cent of respondents agree with the president’s decision, while 37 per cent oppose it.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Most people in France support a decision by Nicolas Sarkozy to return the country to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as a full member, according to a poll by Ifop published in Paris Match. 58 per cent of respondents agree with the president’s decision, while 37 per cent oppose it.
NATO was originally formed in 1949 as an agreement of collaboration designed to prevent a possible attack from the Soviet Union on North America or Western Europe during the Cold War. In March 2004, NATO added seven more nations, six of which were once members of the Warsaw Pact—a military alliance of Eastern European Soviet countries.
On Mar. 11, Sarkozy announced France’s return to NATO, reversing a decision made by former French president Charles de Gaulle more than four decades ago, when he pulled France out of NATO in order "recover the full exercise of [the country’s] sovereignty across her entire territory."
Sarkozy defended his decision, saying, "France will be stronger and more influential, because it’s the absent parties that are always at a disadvantage. France should co-direct rather than submit."
Polling Data
Do you support or oppose France’s return to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)?
|
Support |
58% |
|
Oppose |
37% |
|
Not sure |
5% |
Source: Ifop / Paris Match
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 957 French adults, conducted on Mar. 5 and Mar. 6, 2009. No margin of error was provided.
