March 22, 2003	Saturday	Muharram 18, 1424

PARIS, March 21: A new public opinion poll says that a record number of Frenchmen, 87 per cent, disapprove of the US military intervention.

Previous polls had between 70 and 80 per cent of the French expressing their disagreement with Anglo-American plans to attack Iraq, with the last major poll, done a month ago, putting the number at 77 per cent.

President Jacques Chirac’s own popularity score soared once again, to reach 92 per cent, which appears to be a record for the Fifth French Republic, founded by General Charles de Gaulle in 1958.

According to a polling specialist, “the unleashing of the war has obviously crystallized French public opinion, with absolutely no divisions existing in France on the subject, as if the French people were unanimously behind their president, there is not even any divisions among generations, although the most radical opponents to the war seem to be the very young, with some age categories coming close to 100 per cent.”

One surprise of the poll is that in terms of religion, virtually all (99 per cent) respondents who identified themselves as Muslim said they were hostile to the attack on Iraq. French Muslims were also the largest group to support Mr Chirac, with 98 per cent of those saying they were Muslims expressing their support for Mr Chirac.