(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Two-thirds of people in France think international terrorism is a major threat to their country, according to a poll by Ifop published in Le Journal du Dimanche. 66 per cent of respondents share this view, while 45 per cent believe Islamism is one of the main enemies of France.

Less than one-third of respondents cite small countries with nuclear weapons, China, the United States, and Russia as enemies to France.

Earlier this month, the New York-based Human Rights Watch organization released a report, claiming that France’s counter-terrorism policies are putting the country "on the wrong side of the law." The document accused French authorities of charging suspects based on weak evidence, and of using a principle of "guilt by association" to interrogate hundreds of citizens.

Guillaume Didier, spokesman for France’s Justice Ministry, responded to the report, saying, "Our judicial anti-terrorist system is exemplary, accepted as a model around the world, notably because it lets justice intervene while respecting the rights of the individual. We can catch terrorists before they act."

Separatist armed group Basque Motherland and Liberty (ETA) has killed more than 840 people since 1959, in the fight to form an independent state encompassing the Spanish regions of Navarra and the Basque Country, as well as areas in southwestern France. In May, Francisco Javier López Peña, considered as one of ETA’s key leaders, was arrested in France along with five other suspects.

Polling Data

Among the following, which, according to you, are the main enemies of France in the world?
(Three answers allowed)

Source: Ifop / Le Journal du Dimanche
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 960 French adults, conducted on Jul. 10 and Jul. 11, 2008. No margin of error was provided.

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