French Far-right Pundit Zemmour Expected To Announce Presidential Run
Muhammad Irfan Published November 30, 2021 | 09:40 AM
Paris, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Nov, 2021 ) :French far-right media pundit Eric Zemmour will announce on Tuesday that he will run for president in next year's election, his entourage said, adding another fiercely anti-immigration candidate to the field of challengers seeking to unseat President Emmanuel Macron.
The man sometimes described as "France's Trump", 63, made a dramatic entrance into politics in September when he began a nationwide book tour that served as thinly disguised campaigning.
Though Zemmour has previously teased his ambitions, the official announcement will confirm that he believes he has the finances and backing to dislodge Macron and outshine veteran far-right leader Marine Le Pen in next April's election.
A member of his entourage told AFP on Monday that "a message to the French will be broadcast on our social networks" at around noon on Tuesday, before Zemmour goes on TF1 television.
Several members of his inner circle started tweeting using the hashtag #Zemmourcandidat (Zemmour candidate).
He is due to hold his first official campaign meeting on Sunday morning in Paris -- anti-fascists and unions have already pledged to hold a "silence Zemmour" protest at 1 pm (1200 GMT) in the French capital.
Acid-tongued, intense and with two convictions for hate speech, Zemmour is hoping his radical pitch to voters on curbing immigration and islam in France will appeal to conservatives in a country riven with racial and religious tensions.
He is one of France's best-known and most controversial commentators who has made his name by warning about the "colonisation" of the country by Muslims whose religion he views as "incompatible" with French values.
He has also popularised a conspiracy theory backed by white supremacists known as "the great replacement theory" which posits that native Europeans are being deliberately replaced by immigrants from Africa and the Middle East.
"The great replacement is neither a myth, nor a conspiracy, but a relentless process," he wrote in his latest book entitled "France Has Not Said Its Final Word".
A survey last month suggested a majority of French people (61 percent) agreed that it was going to happen.
Opinion polls showed support for Zemmour shooting up in September and October, briefly making him the best-placed rival to Macron, but his popularity appears to have faded over the last month.
The latest survey put Zemmour third in the first round of voting at 14-15 percent, down 2-3 points from the start of November, according to research from the Ifop group published in the Journal du Dimanche newspaper on Sunday.
He trailed Macron on 25 percent and Le Pen on 19-20 percent.
With these scores, they would both advance to a second-round runoff which Macron would win if the vote were held now, the survey indicated.
Analysts stress that the outcome of the election remains highly uncertain with the main right-wing Republicans party only set to announce its nominee this Saturday and many voters yet to make up their minds.
Pundits have speculated for months about the impact of Zemmour's decision to give up his lucrative career as a media pundit and author in favour of becoming a wildcard in the presidential race.
One possibility is that he and Le Pen eliminate each other by splitting the far-right vote in the first round on April 10, although no polls currently indicate this is likely to happen.
Le Pen is sounding newly confident, claiming that the "dust is starting to settle" after an early media blitz by her rival, who is the son of Algerian Jewish migrant parents.
"I think he'll end up below 10 percent," she told AFP on November 20.
Zemmour "might end up being a stroke of luck", she said. "With the violence and brutality that he expresses, he makes my project seem more reasonable and implementable." As well as facing softening polling numbers, the amateur historian has been plagued by difficulties in recent weeks.
At the weekend, he was photographed giving a middle finger to a protester who approached his car.
"Real deep!" he was overheard saying in a gesture that made headlines around the country and led to suggestions he might have alienated some of the elderly, conservative Catholic voters who form his core support.
Celebrity magazine Closer also reported last week that the married father-of-three was expecting a baby with his 28-year-old chief advisor Sarah Knafo -- which he denounced as an invasion of privacy, but did not deny.
Other influential far-right figures have distanced themselves from him in recent weeks, and his campaign team is said to be riven with infighting and dominated by young activists with little political experience.
"I don't support this candidacy which is tainted by desperation," former campaign aide Pierre Meurin told L'Express magazine on Monday.
"You need to offer people some dreams, and not only blood and tears."
Related Topics
Recent Stories
3 Gawadar attack victims funeral offered
Mbappe says he will leave PSG at end of season
Usmani felicitates Sardar Saleem on taking oath as Punjab Governor
DC for provision of facilities to people in Lasbela
Solar storm could bring auroras, power and telecoms disruptions
Court grants interim bail to PTI leaders
Ulema, Mashaykh call for political accountability, collaboration for Pakistan's ..
SHRC asks NADRA to issue CNICs to transgender as per law
Flash floods kill 50 in one day in north Afghanistan
CDA chief expresses commitment to promoting modern-day technologies
By wide margin, UN General Assembly votes to back Palestinian bid for membership ..
Musadik slams PTI's political approach as provocative
More Stories From Miscellaneous
-
Collective efforts vital to eradicate drugs addiction
22 hours ago -
Concerted efforts urged to ease traffic flow on city roads
6 days ago -
Land degradation: A threat to food security
6 days ago -
Revamping health sector, a gigantic task ahead
6 days ago -
American band promotes intercultural harmony thru music fusions
7 days ago -
Waste Management – A persistent challenge for MWMC
8 days ago
-
Experts for ending child labour
10 days ago -
Labour Day - A reminder for better facilities to workers
10 days ago -
Stage Drama Mohabati Manhoon presents in Arts council Larkana
12 days ago -
Wheat farmers in a fix on price, procurement mechanism
13 days ago -
Modern tools to help transform crime investigation procedures
13 days ago -
Sanam Marvi captivates audience with mesmerizing performance
14 days ago