The development of health education campaigns targeting specific audiences is typically based on the public’s perception of risk. However, despite recent food-related health crises (listeriosis, “mad cow disease,” etc.), there is little data on how the general public and healthcare professionals in France perceive the risk of foodborne infections or zoonoses. Ad hoc studies have been conducted in France to assess changes in the perception of risk associated with beef consumption during and after the "mad cow crisis." The health barometers of the National Institute for Prevention and Health Education (INPES) and the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) are the only regular surveys that include a section on the general public’s perception of overall food-related risk, but they do not explore infectious risk. Based on the Nicolle survey, conducted by the Inpes and the French Institute for Public Health Surveillance in 2006, the objective of this study is to describe the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the French public and their physicians regarding foodborne and zoonotic infectious risks.