Over the past three years, the increasing number of alerts related to avian influenza has raised public awareness of the threat of a flu pandemic comparable to that of 1918–1919. However, little is yet known about how the French public perceives the risk of a pandemic and the ways to prevent it. Historical data show, however, that individual and collective behaviors have a considerable impact on the scale of the consequences of infectious diseases—in terms of morbidity and mortality. From a crisis management perspective, it therefore seems essential to determine 1) how; 2) when; and 3) why our fellow citizens plan to protect themselves against the risk in the event of a pandemic threat. Data for this survey were collected by telephone in June 2008 from a nationally representative sample of the adult population. The results show that the French generally recognize the effectiveness of the preventive measures recommended by public authorities. A majority of them also plan to adopt early preventive behaviors in the event of a pandemic alert. Paradoxically, respondents who are most distrustful of political authorities, science, and technology appear to be the most sensitive to the risk of infection. (R.A.)