The Economist magazine published a report on Eric Zemmour’s rise in polls and his superiority over far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, putting him in a strong position to compete in next year’s elections.
It said that many French people seem to agree with him about his views of Islam and that he has no place in France, noting that Zemmour will be the French Trump, as a former ally of the former US president once said to him, “The French Trump will be him,” which is what the anti-immigrant alleges.
Ahead of next April’s two-round presidential election, two recent first-round polls have put Zemmour in second place, ahead of Ms Le Pen and behind Emmanuel Macron, the sitting president. This has transformed him from a commentator on frenzied tv talk shows into the subject of them. Which is exactly where the radical nationalist, who has been convicted of inciting racial hatred, wants to be. Polls still suggest Macron will lead in the first round and win in the second. But they also suggest that Zemmour, who has yet to confirm he is running, could upset presidential ambitions on the left and the right.
