December 4, 2009 - 11:40 AMT
French back Swiss ban on minarets
The number of opponents to construction of mosques in France doubled during the past 8 years, according to an IFOP poll published by Le Figaro.

41% of respondents oppose building places of Muslim worship, compared to 22% in 2001.  About 46% of the French questioned by IFOP favor the recent Swiss ban. 

Jerome Fourquet of IFOP said the French are divided. "Irritation about Islam has never been so strong," he said.