Ifop for Le Mouvement de la Paix, Planète Paix, L’Humanité and La Marseillaise, has conducted a survey asking French people about their perception of the atomic threat and France’s position on banning nuclear weapons.
Support for the renewal and modernization of atomic weapons (submarines, missiles, etc), rises sharply (69%) compared to March 2012 (36%). French people in favor of reducing military spending also remain in the minority (43% in 2026; 43% in 2018), this figure having fallen significantly since 2012 (73%). On this point, responses are more marked politically: 55% of left-wing voters are in favor, versus 28% among right-wing voters.
Concerning the willingness to commit to a process for the elimination of atomic weapons as envisaged by the United Nations, the proportion of French people supporting this measure remains in the majority, but has fallen sharply (64% in 2026, 76% in 2018, 81% in 2012). As for ratification of the UN Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty, the French are now more divided in their response: 56% are in favor, versus 67% in 2018. Politically, LFI voters are very much in favor (73%), while this support is in the minority among Renaissance voters (35%).
This more militaristic view of the French is part of a broader context of concern about the tense international climate and the use of nuclear weapons. The latter remains a fear shared by a clear majority of French people (79%).
