POLITIEK
De snelle opkomst van Éric Zemmour
October 12, 2021 - Far-right French TV pundit Éric Zemmour recently overtook Marine Le Pen in the polls for the first time, suggesting he rather than she could challenge Emmanuel Macron in the 2022 presidential election.
Born in Paris to Jewish Berbers who emigrated from Algeria in 1950s, Zemmour is a longtime journalist for the conservative daily Le Figaro.
He has written best-selling books on topics such as the supposed incompatibility of Islam with secular French values, immigration and the crisis of French manhood.
Zemmour attracts huge audiences on a talk-show on CNews – an increasingly popular TV channel, backed by conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré, that critics liken to Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News in the U.S.
Twice convicted of racial or religious provocation, Zemmour is seeking to use notoriety built up on the TV channel into a presidential run and is expected to soon declare his candidacy.
- Éric Zemmour: The far-right pundit who threatens to outflank Le Pen (AFP)
- Vincent Bolloré, Éric Zemmour and the rise of ‘France’s Fox News’ (FT)
- French far right’s new face: the meteoric rise of Éric Zemmour (The Guardian)
- From TV to the French Presidency? A Right-Wing Star Is Inspired by Trump (NYT)
- Harris Interactive poll