The French public is strongly against any cancellation of this summer’s Euro 2016 football championships due to the fear of further terrorist attacks, an opinion poll published Sunday has shown.
The poll was carried out by the Odoxa institute for RTL and Winamax two to three days after the bomb attacks in Brussels that killed 31 people and left 340 others wounded.
Asked whether, in the context of the terrorist threat, it would be better to cancel Euro 2016, due to be held in France from June 10 to July 10, 79% of those questioned replied no.
On the matter of fan-zones, special areas set up around the country in front of giant screens for match-viewing, 58% replied no to the question of whether they should be scrapped with 41% saying yes.
The French government has already made it clear that there is no contingency plan to call off the Euro 2016 tournament, although Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has said that the fan-zone situation will be closely monitored.
Fears that the Euro 2016 championships, involving 24 teams playing at 10 city venues across France, could be a terrorist target were heightened with the jihadist attacks on Paris on November 13 which left 130 people dead, including suicide bombers outside the Stade de France during a friendly match between France and Germany. – Agence France-Presse
