According to a CSA survey for CNEWS, JDD and Europe 1, published this Wednesday October 2, nearly 6 in 10 French people (58%) believe that immigration is not an opportunity for France.
While Michel Barnier presented his “five priority projects” this Tuesday, of which immigration is one, a CSA survey* for CNEWS, the Journal du Dimanche and Europe 1 revealed this Wednesday that nearly 6 out of 10 French people believe that it is not an opportunity for France.
The latter in fact answered “no” at 58% to the question: “In your opinion, is immigration an opportunity for France?” Conversely, 41% of respondents answered “yes”, while 1% did not comment.
The “no” share is highest among those aged 50 to 64, at 63%, and exceeds 55% in almost all age groups, except among those aged 18 to 24. Young people are in fact divided on this question, with the “yes” slightly winning at 52%.
The idea that immigration does not represent an opportunity for France is mostly supported by people who claim to be furthest to the right of the political spectrum, at 88% on average (87% among respondents close to the National Rally) .
Among respondents claiming to belong to a more traditional right, the “no” vote wins at 74%. In the center, the support of the presidential majority, for their part, widens the gap, to 49%.
A question that divides
On the left, it is the “yes” which wins with similar scores, including 77% for the voters of the Socialist Party, 76% among the voters of Europe Ecologie-Les Verts and those of France insoumise.
On average, supporters of left-wing political parties answered 75% “yes” to the question “In your opinion, is immigration an opportunity for France?”
On the political level, despite Michel Barnier’s desire to make immigration one of his major priorities, his speech given on Tuesday did not convince his opponents.
For part of the left and defenders of the rights of foreigners, its guidelines on the issue are not mastered “satisfactorily” and have even been described as “fuzzy”.
For her part, Marine Le Pen urges us to go further on the issue and calls for a new “restrictive immigration” law, incorporating at least the provisions censored by the Constitutional Council” of the last law passed in January 2024.
According to INSEE, 7.3 million immigrants lived in France in 2023. They represented 10.7% of the total population.
The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies also specifies that the foreign population living in France brings together 5.6 million people, or 8.2% of the total population.
“It is made up of 4.8 million immigrants who have not acquired French nationality and 0.8 million people born in France with foreign nationality,” indicates the organization.
*Survey carried out on October 1 and 2 by self-administered online questionnaire on a nationally representative sample of 1,010 people aged over 18, using the quota method.
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