Eric ZemoA controversial French far-right TV commentator was convicted of inciting racial hatred. He announced that he would run for president next spring, claiming that he wanted to “save” traditional France from “disappearing.”
In a 10-minute video posted on social media, Zemur sits at his desk and reads a speech in front of an old-fashioned microphone designed to look like Charles de Gaulle’s The famous June 1940 broadcast To Nazi-occupied France-aroused the anger of the traditional de Gaulle right.
In Beethoven’s soundtrack, the video jumps to unexplainable footage of riots and CCTV fights, as well as women wearing hijabs, black people on the subway, athletes kneeling and praying in the street. Zemmour said: “Now is not the time to reform France, But save it. This is why I decided to participate in the presidential election. ”
Shots from the Palace of Versailles and footage from the films of Joan of Arc and Napoleon show Zemur’s view of France’s past glory. French media reported that at least one film company is investigating the legal issue of the right to use certain lenses.
Zemmour was a former newspaper columnist with no political party and no election experience. He was attacked by historians for claiming that the Nazi collaborator Marshal Philippe Petain saved the French Jews instead of helping them be deported to death camps. The French Minister of Justice described him as a dangerous racist and a denier of the Holocaust. Human rights organizations and anti-racist organizations condemned him for appearing on the political stage.his Recent trial When he appeared on TV last year, he called unaccompanied child immigrants “thieves, killers, and rapists,” and this month began to be accused of inciting racial hatred.
After extensive media coverage and the rapid rise in opinion polls this fall, he officially announced that he would run for the presidential election-when some people indicated that he could enter the final round against President Emmanuel Macron. But opinion polls in recent weeks have shown that his status has begun to decline.
The Harris Interactive Voting Intention Survey released on Tuesday showed that Zemore surveyed people before confirming his candidacy. The results showed that he had dropped by 3 to 4 percentage points in the first round of the presidential election in April. Is 13%.
Opinion polls show that although he can get voters from the far-right Marina Le Pen and the traditional right-wing Republican Party, voters believe that he has no presidential status or ability. This weekend, he was photographed middle fingering a protester in Marseille, which led right-wing critics to accuse him of impulsiveness.
In a recent tour to promote his latest book on the decline of the country, Zemur claimed that immigration and Islam would destroy the country and warned of “race wars.” At the book sale, he argued that “white heterosexual men” were threatened by ethnic minorities and so-called “gay lobby groups.”
Zemur’s election announcement did not make any specific recommendations or propositions—he once stated that he believed that the role of the president was to present a “vision”, not to go into details. He still has to collect 500 signatures from elected officials to stand and raise funds-both of which may prove difficult.
French Communist Party presidential candidate Fabien Roussel said that he will submit a parliamentary resolution this week, demanding that anyone convicted of inciting racial hatred cannot run.
The government spokesman, Gabriel Attal, regarded Zemmour as a fake Trump.
Sébastien Chenu, from Le Pen’s far-right National Rally Party, said: “We haven’t seen him bring anything new.”
Zemmour’s announcement was made deliberately before Nicolas Sarkozy’s “Republican” started a four-day party vote for the presidential candidate starting on Wednesday.
