🔸60% of French people believe that we are witnessing "a replacement of the French population by non-European populations mainly from the African continent."

🔸And 66% see this as a bad thing, against 9% a good one.

FIFG, 2026

*The key messages the communications campaign should focus on are: what the security threat to European countries is; ways in which each government is preparing to meet the threat; how deterrence works and why it is worth making investments in defence now, with the aim of deterring adversaries from further undermining European security; the likely character of any future war; and underscoring that the required increase in spending is only 1 to 1.5 per cent of GDP.

*Governments should use unconventional approaches to deliver these messages and build consensus around defence investments. Foreign and defence ministries around Europe should host high-level public shows, panel discussions and townhall meetings to engage with publics.

*Governments should also engage with cultural institutions and provide funding for the arts to contribute to the public conversation on defence.

*Governments should also look to mobilise popular public figures, such as members of royal families, sportspeople and youth leaders.

*Special efforts should be made to reach younger audiences through social media, including using social media influencers, and through classrooms by designing curricula to teach national security courses in schools.
https://www.cer.eu/publications/archive/policy-brief/2026/how-build-public-support-defence-spending

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