Israel-Gaza War, French Muslims

Poll: French Muslims Split on Whether October 7 Massacre "Resistance" or "War Crimes"

The poll's results comes against the background of an explosion in antisemitic acts throughout France since the massacre.

12/19/2023, 11:32

1 min read

Opposed to Israel's war, divided on Hamas' actions. French Muslims protesting a previous round of conflict in Gaza. — Photo: Olga Bessnard, Shutterstock

A poll of French Muslims found 45% of them considering the October 7 Massacre to be "resistance," while 55% combined considered them "terrorist acts" or "war crimes." Some 62%, however, consider Israel's current war in Gaza to be an "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians.

The poll, conducted by French firm Ifop and reported on at the Algemeiner, also found that French Muslims were divided on the question of support for Hamas: 19% support the movement, 25% oppose it, the rest neither support nor oppose it.

By comparison, the polling firm found that 54% of the non-Muslim French population oppose Hamas, and 43% consider themselves neutral. Fully 90% of the general French population consider the actions of October 7 to be "war crimes" and "terrorist acts."

The poll comes against the background of a massive upswing in antisemitic acts against Jews in France, including acts of harassment, vandalism, and threats.