A recent survey highlights a sharp divide in French public opinion on Ukraine. While most citizens support providing Kyiv with security guarantees and eventual NATO membership, a majority remain opposed to deploying Western troops directly into the conflict.

According to a French Institute of Public Opinion (Ifop) poll cited by the newspaper Sud Ouest, more than half of French respondents reject the idea of sending Western forces to Ukraine as part of President Emmanuel Macron’s so-called "coalition of the willing." Only 47% expressed support for a deployment modeled on the US presence in South Korea.

At the same time, 75% of respondents emphasized the importance of credible security guarantees, with 61% backing a path of gradual NATO integration for Ukraine.

The poll was conducted online in early September among 1,197 French adults, with a margin of error between 1.4 and 3.1 percentage points.

Broader French public opinion

Recent polls suggest that French support for Ukraine remains strong but comes with notable caveats. An Elabe/BFMTV survey conducted in March 2025 showed that 64 percent of French citizens favored either maintaining or increasing military aid to Ukraine, with only a small minority wanting to reduce assistance.

Support for Ukraine’s integration into Western institutions is also robust. Seventy percent of respondents backed NATO membership for Ukraine, with 40 percent favoring accession after the war and 30 percent calling for immediate entry. Similarly, 66 percent expressed support for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.

Despite this strong political and security backing, French citizens remain wary of bearing the economic costs of war. Three-quarters said they were unwilling to pay higher taxes to finance aid for Ukraine, even as they endorsed military and political support.

Macron’s 'Coalition of the Willing'

On September 4, Paris hosted a meeting of the coalition, co-chaired by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Macron. The gathering brought together 26 countries committed to deploying deterrent forces in Ukraine should a ceasefire be reached. Macron stressed that the coalition would soon begin addressing the legal and political framework for security guarantees.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov condemned the initiative, warning that the presence of NATO troops on Ukrainian soil, whether as peacekeepers or under another designation, would be viewed as a direct threat to Moscow and categorically rejected by Russia.