According to the poll, which was conducted for the French La Tribune newspaper, only 36 percent of the French population is against delivering the Mistrals to Russia. Furthermore, 75 percent of those questioned say that failure to deliver "will not be effective for resolving the conflict between Russia and Ukraine."
Some 56 percent believe that failure to deliver Mistral ships to Russia will undermine France's reputation and as many as 77 percent say such a decision will have "direct [negative] consequences for French shipbuilding."
The poll also revealed that more than half of the French population, or 52 percent, believe that the Western sanctions against Russia are ineffective in resolving the Ukraine crisis. "There are doubts regarding the efficacy of Western sanctions," Damien Philippot, the head of the political studies in Ifop said.
In total, Ifop analyzed responses from 1001 French adults in the survey carried out between January 9 and January 12, 2015.
Russia now expects France to either deliver the warships or return the money.
Last Thursday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that within six months Moscow could file a court case against France over failing to deliver the first Mistral helicopter-carrier.
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