While the vast majority of French say Russian President Vladimir Putin is responsible for the war in Ukraine, over half also believe NATO, U.S. President Biden, and Ukrainian President Zelensky also share some responsibility for the conflict, a poll has found.
According to the poll, released by the polling firm Harris Interactive over the weekend, 96 per cent of French believe — perhaps unsurprisingly, given he ordered the invasion — Russian President Putin is responsible for the invasion of Ukraine, but a majority also said they think NATO and others had a share of responsibility too.
A total of 68 per cent said that NATO shared in the responsibility for the ongoing conflict, while 62 per cent said the same of United States President Joe Biden and 57 per cent of French claimed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was partially responsible, betraying an implicit and widespread belief of complex origins of the present conflict.
Supporters of conservative presidential candidate Eric Zemmour’s Reconquest! party and supporters of the far-left France Insoumise led by Jean-Luc Melenchon were the most likely to agree that parties other than President Putin shared some of the responsibility.
Despite this, nearly nine in ten French said that the west could not negotiate with President Putin and more than nine in ten said that the Russian leader was “dangerous” and “worrying.”
Another majority, six in ten, said that Putin was not a mad dictator acting irrationally, but stated they believed the Russian president acted purposefully, agreeing with the sentiment that he “knows what he is doing.”
A majority of two-thirds of French also agreed with the reaction from the West to the conflict, indicating support for economic sanctions, seizure of Russian assets and even an end to all diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s current handling of the Ukraine crisis was supported by 59 per cent in the poll, far above the approval of any of the other presidential candidates on the issue, with none polling higher than a third of those surveyed.
The first round of the French presidential election is just over a month away and is set to take place on April 10th. Of those surveyed, 65 per cent said that the conflict in Ukraine could be an important factor in their vote for president.
Current opinion polls suggest that Emmanuel Macron is the most likely to win the first round of the vote, but the battle for second place and the ability to face off against Macron in the second round of voting, has been contested by populist Marine Le Pen, Eric Zemmour and centre-right candidate Valérie Pécresse.
A recent poll released last week suggested that Ms Le Pen may be breaking away from her two rivals, as support from Ms Pécresse slumped in recent weeks.
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