Article: A far-right polemicist and popular TV pundit is close to standing for the French presidency in a move that could upset the campaign of Marine Le Pen.

Support committees for Éric Zemmour have already raised 100 of the 500 signatures from elected officials required for candidacy in the elections next April, according to BFMTV. He is said to have almost completed a manifesto that focuses on Islam, immigration and French decline at the hands of the EU “dictatorship”.

Zemmour, 62, the darling of far-right voters who believe that Le Pen, the leader of the National Rally, has gone soft, has been teasing France with the prospect of an unvarnished anti-immigrant and anti-Islam candidacy since supporters called for him to stand early this year. This month he said that he was hesitating because of the 500 signatures and the money required, but added: “I have a lot of friends . . . We’ll see after the holidays. You don’t have long to wait.”

Polls show that Zemmour, who attracts a million viewers a day to his evening slot on CNews, a conservative channel, would gain only 5.5 per cent of the vote if the first round of the presidential election were held now.

President Macron and his La République en Marche party would welcome Zemmour’s candidacy because it would steal votes from Le Pen, 53. Although behind in the polls, she remains the main challenger to Macron despite a setback for her party in regional elections in June. Zemmour would also take votes from the candidate for the mainstream conservative Republicans, who has yet to be designated.

Gabriel Attal, the minister who acts as a spokesman for Macron’s government, said: “Zemmour is more about causing headaches for the National Rally than stirring public enthusiasm.”

However, some backers of Macron, 43, fear that Zemmour could disrupt the race in the same way as media entertainers elsewhere, such as Donald Trump in the US, Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine and Beppe Grillo, the comedian who led the Five Star movement to shared power in Italy.

A cabinet minister expressed worries in Le Monde that Zemmour’s harsh doctrines would have the effect of making Le Pen more palatable. Le Pen has appealed to Zemmour to stay away but he is backed by Marion Maréchal, 31, her niece, who is disillusioned with her.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/far-right-pundit-eric-zemmour-close-standing-french-presidency-bc0q8ckm3