The French are twice as welcoming as Britons towards Syrian refugees

following co- ordinated terror attacks on their capital that killed 130 people.

While more British people want fewer Syrian refugees to enter the UK, French
citizens have remained fairly stable in their view of those fleeing war and
persecution, according to pollsters YouGov.
Their research suggests that, following the Paris attacks, many European
countries and parts of the US have changed their attitudes refugees.

Opposition to accepting migrants rose after a fake Syrian passport of a man who
may have arrived via a refugee route was found on the body of a suicide
bomber.

Yet all the Paris attackers have since been confirmed as European nationals,
with many of the refugees fleeing Syria attempting to escape Isis - the militant
group which claimed responsibility for the atrocity in France/

"But in Britain, attitudes to Syrian refugees have significantly hardened

nonetheless," said YouGov.

"[...] Research from YouGov in France, conducted over a similar time period,
shows no equivalent shift in opinion."

The percentage of British people who believe no more Syrian refugees should
come to the UK has almost doubled from 14 per cent in September to 26 per
cent in mid-November just after the attacks.

And only a fifth agreed that Britain should admit higher numbers of refugees
from Syria - down from 36 per cent between September 3 and 4.

Twice as many French citizens - 40 per cent - believe political refugees from
Syria should be allowed into France.
This was a slight drop from 45 per cent among the French on September 3 and
4.

The difference in opinions compares reactions immediately after September 2,

when drowned three-year-old toddler Aylan Kurdi was photographed on a beach
in Turkey, to immediately after the Paris attacks on November 13.
Before the attacks in Paris, David Cameron had announced on September 8 that
the UK would accept 4,000 refugees a year for five years.
German leader Angela Merkel said in September that the country would accept
500,000 refugees annually for "several years", more than any other European
country.

In a move that puts the heated U.S. debate over taking in Syrian refugees in
perspective, French President Francois Hollande declared on Wednesday that
his country would accept 30,000 Syrian refugees over next two years. He
announced this at a gathering of mayors from French cities, where he received
a standing ovation.

Hollande said that "30,000 refugees will be welcomed over the next two years.
Our country has the duty to respect this commitment." He indicated that
resettled refugees would undergo rigorous security checks, according to ABC
News. He said there would be a 50 million euro investment fund used to
support housing for refugees.
Hollande observed that "some people say the tragic events of the last few days
have sown doubts in their minds," referring to the cloud of suspicion that has
fallen on the hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees who arrived at
Europe's borders this year. Despite speculation, not one of the Paris
attackers has so far been identified as a Syrian national.
[Were Syrian refugees involved in the Paris attacks? What we know and
don't know]
Hollande said it was France's "humanitarian duty" to honor its commitments
to refugees, even in the wake of the chilling terror attacks on Friday, claimed
by the Islamic State, which killed at least 129 people.

"We have to reinforce our borders while remaining true to our values," the
French president said.

The message flies in the face of recent statements by American Republican

presidential hopefuls and governors, who have all cited the security concerns
surrounding the terror attacks as reasons to halt resettlement of Syrian
refugees in the United States. Some have proposed only allowing in Christian
refugees, at the expense of Muslim ones.

The U.S. State Department has said it has no intention of halting its efforts to
resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees in the next year. Speaking on the sidelines of a
summit in Manila, President Obama decried the hostility to refugees back
home.
[Islamic State wants you to hate refugees]
The Islamic State "seeks to exploit the idea that theres war between Islam and
the West," Obama said, "and when you start seeing individuals in position of
responsibility suggesting Christians are more worthy of protection than
Muslims are in a war-torn land, that feeds the [Islamic State] narrative."

Hollande, for his part, has rejected the rhetoric of a "clash of civilizations," and
he spoke of French courage on Wednesday.