Éric Zemmour, French Right-Wing Pundit and Commentator, Polls High for 2022 Presidential Run
Zemmour’s popularity as a potential presidential contender has increased sharply among France’s right. (Wikimedia Commons)
Éric Zemmour, a popular French right-wing political commentator, journalist, and pundit, has increasing support for a 2022 presidential run, recently polling second, right behind Emmanuel Macron, and higher than far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. Zemmour has not declared candidacy.
The first round of France’s election will take place on April 10, 2022. Candidates must win by a majority, but since a majority winner is unlikely, runoff elections are scheduled for April 24. Le Pen, a family member of what many consider to be France’s major conservative political dynasty, could face challenges by Zemmour and politician Xavier Bertrand, making the top choice for right-wing voters uncertain.
Opinion head of polling company Ifop Frederic Dabi said that “this uncertainty is unprecedented, because Le Pen, Zemmour and Bertrand are within three points of each other and are knocking on the door of the second round.”
Zemmour, born in Paris in 1958 to a Jewish family from Algeria, has amassed notoriety across France throughout his career for his xenophobic, Islamaphobic, misogynistic, and anti-LGBTQ+ ideologies. Those on the far right have taken a liking to his bombast and highly public, media-driven rhetoric over the past few decades.
His rise in popularity is evident: his dominating presence on social media and broadcast television includes both comprehensive analyses of France’s politics and biting, Trumpian one-liners. Zemmour tweeted on October 15 that Islam “must make reasonable accommodations with France,” not the other way around.
As of 2021, Zemmour has 260,000 followers on Twitter, and his evening show averages around 900,000 viewers per night.
Jean-Yves Camus, Director of the Observatory of Radical Politics at the Jean Jaures Foundation, said that "the real question is whether [Zemmour's rise in polling] is a media bubble which is linked to his overexposure in the media—an overexposure which is likely to continue—or if it is a real, deeper phenomenon which sees Marine Le Pen losing voters due to a fatigue after her party repeatedly failed to conquer power."
This apathy towards Le Pen among France’s right can in part be traced back to Le Pen’s poor performance in the 2017 presidential debates against Macron. As Zemmour has a reputation for stronger debate performances, Camus also said that this ability to potentially dominate Macron in debates has made Zemmour much more attractive to French voters, especially since Zemmour is an outsider with the potential to shake up French politics.
Zemmour must be nominated by a minimum of 500 elected officials from 30 départements or overseas territories to be added to the official list of presidential contenders. A maximum of 10 percent of these elected officials can originate from a single département or overseas territory. These could be members of France’s Parliament, members of the European Parliament, mayors, regional councilors, or any elected officials. The final deadline for candidates to be added to the list is February 27, 2022.