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SURVEY : FRENCH PEOPLE AND SUPPORT TO UKRAINIAN REFUGEES : AN UNPRECEDENTED INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT ?

Published 24 February 2023 in Surveys

In partnership with University College London (UCL) and the University of Birmingham, Focus 2030 is conducting an action-research program to analyze citizens’ opinions, attitudes, knowledge and feelings on issues related to international solidarity. This program covers four countries : France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

This project called the "Development Engagement Lab" (DEL) provides data to development actors (NGOs, foundations, think tanks, ministries, public institutions, international organizations) to help them better understand citizens’ expectations and increase the effectiveness of their communication, mobilization and advocacy activities. This Focus 2030-DEL survey was conducted by the YouGov Institute from June 7 to June 15, 2022, among a representative sample of the adult population of 2,070 people. Margin of error +/- 2%.

On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, signaling the return of war to the European continent. Since then, the war has taken a prominent place in the media, in political decisions, and affected the world’s economy and the daily lives of French people in a very concrete way. More than other international crises, the reality and consequences of this war are in some ways particularly tangible for the French.

Proof of this is the unprecedented solidarity movements that spontaneously took place all over France.

Carried out in this context, this opinion survey (conducted between June 7 and 15, 2022 - 2,070 adults representative of the French population) questioned the actions that French people have taken or would be willing to take to "help refugees fleeing the conflict in Ukraine”.

31% of French people declared they have made a donation of either money or everyday goods, an expression of concrete generosity that outweighs the other actions identified in the survey. A quarter of the respondents acknowledge that they have not yet given anything but could do so.

According to the survey, men are as likely as women to report having donated to Ukrainian refugees.

However, the proportion of people who have made a donation appears to be correlated with a higher-than-average level of education, annual income and age (55 years and over).

9% of French people declare having organized the collection of donations, an action that shows a high level of personal commitment, which is less prevalent among older respondents and respondent who stated they voted for Marine Le Pen in the 2022 French presidential election.

Both Women and people with a higher-than-average level of education are more likely to have interacted (commented, read, shared an article) about Ukrainian refugees on social media.

Lastly, 3% of French people declare having shown hospitality to refugees arriving in France (in one way or another). A significant proportion that deserves to be explored further in order to understand the reality and the concrete expressions of this commitment to international solidarity.

These data come from our survey conducted by the YouGov Institute and piloted by the University College London and University of Birmingham research team as part of the Development Engagement Lab project. For a detailed summary of the methodology more information can be found here.