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New Poll Registers Strong Support for Hamas Among French Muslims
“From Gaza to Paris, Resistance!” A sign on display at a pro-Hamas demonstration in France. Photo: Reuters/Fiora Garenzi
Almost half of French Muslims consider the Oct. 7 Hamas pogrom in southern Israel to have been “an act of resistance against colonization” while nearly one in five expressed sympathy for the atrocities, according to a new survey published on Monday by Ifop, France’s leading pollster.
The survey contrasted French Muslim attitudes towards the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians with the population of France at large, uncovering significant differences regarding the perception of Hamas, French government policy in the region, and media coverage of the war in Gaza triggered by the Oct. 7 atrocities.
Asked whether they were sympathetic to Hamas, 19 percent of Muslim respondents answered affirmatively, compared with just three percent of the population overall. A majority of Muslims — 56 percent — said they were neither supportive of or opposed to Hamas, while a further 25 percent said they were opposed. Among the general population, 54 percent declared their antipathy towards Hamas, while a further 43 percent stated their neutrality on the question.
When asked to characterize the Hamas atrocities, 45 percent of Muslim respondents classed them as “resistance against colonization.” A further 26 percent described the Oct.7 atrocities as “war crimes” with another 29 percent describing them as “terrorist acts,” indicating a more or less even split among Muslims surveyed. Among the French population more broadly, a full 90 percent interpreted the Oct. 7 atrocities as “war crimes” and “terrorist acts.”
A further 62 percent of Muslim respondents said that Israel’s military response in Gaza amounted to “ethnic cleansing,” compared with 38 percent of respondents in the general population. Both segments, however, were in agreement with the contention that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict reverberates in France’s domestic politics, as expressed by 76 percent of Muslims and 82 percent of the overall population.
Asked about the French government’s position, a clear majority of Muslims — 58 percent — believed that President Emmanuel Macron’s administration was sympathetic to Israel, compared with 20 percent in the population at large. Similar discrepancies were revealed in the question about media coverage, with 67 percent of Muslims saying that the French media is more sympathetic towards Israel, compared with 38 percent of the general population.
The demographic breakdown of Hamas sympathizers among French Muslims revealed that 50 percent of those under 25 supported the terrorist group, rising to 53 percent among those aged over 50. An average of 41 percent of Muslims aged between 25 and 49 answered similarly.
About six million Muslims live in France. A total of 1,022 people participated in the Ifop survey, which was conducted at the end of November.
Antisemitism has exploded in France since Oct. 7, with more than 1,500 outrages recorded. Nearly 200,000 people attended a demonstration in Paris on Nov. 11 to oppose antisemitism.
The post New Poll Registers Strong Support for Hamas Among French Muslims first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.