Eric Zemour, the radical nationalist commentator, officially entered the French presidential race on Tuesday with a promise to "save" France, writes The Times.
The 63-year-old, who has two convictions for inciting racial hatred, has officially announced his candidacy, although he unofficially launched the campaign in the summer, invading the political arena and rising in opinion polls where he rivals or even surpasses Marine Le Pen. the long-time flag bearer of the right in France. "It is no longer time to reform France, but to save it. That's why I decided to run for president," Zemour said in a video posted on social media. Addressing his main topic, he added that many voters "no longer recognize" their country - a hint of the change it has undergone in immigration from Muslim and African countries. Zemur seeks to revive the momentum of his earlier rebel campaign, based on a tour of his latest best-selling book, France Has Not Said His Last Word, a diagnosis of France's alleged collapse under immigration, crime and the left. ideas, after which a series of incidents damaged his position in the polls. Last week, it became clear that Sarah Knafo, his 28-year-old campaign manager, was said to be pregnant with his child, and on Sunday he responded with the same after his wife showed his middle finger in Marseille. His video included footage of violence on the streets of France, as well as images of old news. The French should no longer "feel like foreigners in their own country," he said. Zemur attacks the "politically correct", the "elites", the "Islamic left" and the supporters of "woke politics".
Zemur's unofficial entry into the race transformed the campaign, overturning the long-held assumption that Le Pen would reach the run-off in the second round to repeat his 2017 duel with President Macron. Le Pen portrays Zemur as an amateur with more extreme ideas than hers. She told Sud Radio today that he had brought nothing new to the nationalist camp and that "part of his manifesto was the complete opposite of mine: women, the economy, immigration." She added: "He is a polemicist. This is not a presidential candidate. He divides and divides people.
Gabriel Atal, a government spokesman, called Zemmour "Donald Trump at a reduced price.". Zemur's main influence so far has been to attract the main Conservative party's Republicans to the right, in order to stop his supporters from supporting him. The party will choose its candidate for the April elections over the weekend, led by Michel Barnier, former EU Brexit negotiator Xavier Bertrand, chairman of the Nordic regional council, Valerie Pecres, head of the Paris regional council, and Eric Chiotti. MP from the Cote d'Azur. Macron remains the favorite to win re-election, but Zemur's presence has revealed the likely contender. Surveys show that Le Pen and Zemur scored about 15 percent each in the first round, just ahead of Bertrand, the Republican's best candidate. Macron has a solid 25 percent of the vote in the first round.
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