French strongly fear new terrorist attacks – poll

French citizens strongly fear that the country could be hit by a terrorist attack in the coming weeks or months, a poll published on Thursday has shown.  

The survey, conducted after a terrorist attack on a packed music venue outside Moscow last week, and a few months before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, has revealed significant concern over a potential assault, with an average score of 7 out of 10 points on the fear scale among those interviewed. The 0 mark indicates ‘very low fear’ of a terrorist attack, while 10 corresponds to ‘very high fear’.  

The survey was carried out by the CSA institute for CNews, Europe 1, and Le Journal du Dimanche on March 26 and 27 among 1,013 people aged 18 and over. It showed a notable gap in the level of vigilance between men and women. The data showed that women are more concerned about a potential terrorist attack threat, giving an average score of 7.3 compared to 6.7 displayed by men.   

Analysis by age group revealed that French youth, particularly those under the age of 35, are the most affected by anxiety on the issue. People aged 35 to 49 seem to be less concerned, while fear increases slightly among adults over 50.   

According to the researchers, the numbers could reflect a variety of factors, including differences in public engagement, exposure to media sources, and sensitivity to public policies.  

Reinforced security measures have been in place in France since a wave of terrorist attacks in January 2015, when a group of Islamists killed 17 people in Paris and its suburbs. In November of that year, France saw one of the deadliest Islamist attacks in its history, when suicide bombers and gunmen hit a concert hall, a major stadium, restaurants, and bars in Paris, killing 130 people.   

Following the terrorist attack in Russia on Friday, which left 143 people dead, France raised the terrorism alert level across the country to its highest level.