PARIS —
A far-right former TV pundit with multiple hate-speech convictions officially entered the race for France’s presidency Tuesday and warned his supporters that they would likely be called racists for backing his anti-immigration and anti-Islam views.
The launch of Eric Zemmour’s run for the presidency made official a campaign that had been gathering steam for months before it then stumbled of late — notably after the 63-year-old polemicist raised a middle finger at a woman who did likewise to him over the weekend.
That flash of temper, which Zemmour later acknowledged on Twitter was “very inelegant,” cast fresh doubt on the temperament and electability of the author and former journalist. Zemmour has drawn comparisons in France to former President Trump because of his rabble-rousing populism and ambitions of making the jump from the small screen to national leadership.
Name-dropping Joan of Arc, Napoleon Bonaparte and Gen. Charles de Gaulle, Zemmour announced his candidacy in a pre-recorded video, reading from notes and speaking into a large microphone. The pose evoked imagery of radio addresses that De Gaulle famously delivered during World War II as he urged France to rally to his call to fight Nazi Germany.
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World & Nation
An anti-immigrant, anti-Islam far-right TV pundit roils France’s presidential campaign
A rabble-rousing TV pundit and author with repeated convictions for hate speech is rocking the early stages of France’s coming presidential election.
Already assailed by critics for his divisive views of France as a country mortally threatened by immigration and for his infamously sharp tongue, Zemmour warned supporters to brace for a bruising campaign ahead of the April election.
“They will tell you that you are racist,” he said. “They will say the worst things about me.”
Zemmour joins a crowded spectrum of candidates, from far left to far right. President Emmanuel Macron is expected to seek a second term but hasn’t yet declared his candidacy.