A survey released this week has revealed that half of the French public believe in the “Great Replacement” theory and that elites in politics and business are attempting to replace the native population of France.
The Ifop survey, which asked a number of questions regarding immigration and topics such as Islamisation, found that 50 per cent of the French believe in the Great Replacement, a theory coined by French writer Renaud Camus to describe the demographic replacement of native peoples by mass migration.
Nearly seven in ten of the respondents to the survey, or 69 per cent, stated they believed there were “too many” immigrants in France, while 62 per cent said that immigration was the primary reason for insecurity issues in the country, French news magazine L’Obs reports.
In the Ifop survey, respondents were also asked about French identity and Islam, with 70 per cent stating that France should remain a Christian country, while 68 per cent said that Islam was a threat to French identity.
Crime, particularly that involving underage illegal immigrants, has become a major problem in certain parts of France and the surge in minor migrant criminality was highlighted earlier this year by French Senator Henri Leroy.
“Just look at the panorama of delinquency. There is a worrying increase which seems exponential. The number of minor migrants was 30,000 in 2015 and 60,000 in 2018, and the associated problems are increasing at the same rate,” Leroy said in May.
“In Bordeaux, 40 per cent of delinquency is attributable to them, and the proportion was 24 per cent two years ago. The problem grows and threatens to infiltrate all sections of delinquency, trafficking, banditry… We need to stop this bleeding,” he added.
The survey was conducted by Ifop for the anti-hate groups the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism (LICRA) and the magazine Le Droit de Vivre in response to the dramatic rise of the conservative writer and presidential hopeful Eric Zemmour in polling for next year’s French presidential elections.
Zemmour has been clear in his stance against mass migration and has referenced the Great Replacement theory in the past.
He has also been firmly opposed to the Islamisation of France and was placed under investigation over remarks he had made at a conference in 2019 when he stated: “In France, as in all Europe, all our problems are aggravated by immigration — schools, housing, unemployment, social deficits, public order, prisons — but all our problems are also aggravated by Islam. It’s double punishment.”
Earlier this month, a hate crime trial for Zemmour began over comments he had made on French television regarding minor migrants last year.
“They have nothing to do here, they are thieves, they are murderers, they are rapists, that’s all they are, they must be sent back and they must not even come,” Zemmour said while appearing on the television programme Face à l’info on broadcaster CNews.
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