86 Per Cent of French Say Security, Terrorism Major Issues in Coming Election

A poll released by Ifop has revealed that 86 per cent of the French public say that “security and the fight against terrorism” is an important issue for how they will vote in the 2022 presidential elections.

The Ifop poll found that of those 86 per cent, 44 per cent said “the fight against insecurity” would be “completely important” to how they cast their vote. So-called “security and the fight against terrorism as well as the fight against [crime]” are set to be major issues at the ballot box.

For supporters of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, 99 per cent said security issues were the main factor in their choice for the presidency, with 98 per cent of supporters of the centre-right Les Republicains saying the same thing, newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche reports.

Frédéric Dabi, director-general of Ifop, said of the results that “security is shaping up to be a major issue in the next presidential election”.

The issue of security is not just important for supporters of right-wing parties in France, either. The vast majority of supporters of President Emmanuel Macron’s La République en Marche! (LREM), 86 per cent, said it was a major issue, with 80 per cent of the Socialist Party voters agreeing as well as 70 per cent of backers of the far-left La France Insoumise (LFI/Unsubmissive France).

According to the newspaper, security concerns have jumped by 26 per cent since May 2020, with events such as the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty and other violent attacks thought responsible for the rise in concern.

The results could be welcome news for populist candidate Marine Le Pen, who has previously campaigned on a tough-on-crime platform and has had large sections of support from police and military officials in the past, as well.

A recent study published by the Jean-Jaurès Foundation found that a Le Pen victory in 2022 was possible under certain conditions, one of which being a large abstention of votes that could mean President Macron would not have the support needed to defeat the populist candidate.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com