Éric Zemmour Announces Candidacy for 2027 French Presidential Election

This came during his interview with TF1 television channel last Monday, in which he said, “I can confirm that I will indeed be a candidate in the presidential elections,” adding that he is running to “preserve France’s identity” and ensure its future remains in its own hands.

Zemmour’s announcement of his candidacy follows a poll conducted last Monday showing that far-right leader Marine Le Pen and his far-left rival Jean-Luc Mélenchon have strengthened their leads in intentions to vote in the upcoming presidential elections.

Zemmour, 68, is a Jewish writer and television commentator of Algerian origin, a striking and controversial paradox given that he is one of the most prominent anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim voices in France.

Born on August 31, 1958, in Montreuil to Algerian Jewish parents who emigrated to France, he began his career as a journalist and writer for conservative French newspapers, including “Paris Today” in 1986 and the weekly “Globe Idéo.” In 1996, he became a political columnist and reporter for “Le Figaro,” a position he held until 2009. He also worked as a freelance writer for “Marianne” magazine in 1997 and “Valeurs Actuelles” in 1999.

He later joined RTL radio station, then appeared as a guest on television talk shows starting in 2003. He joined a talk show on France 2, the public second channel, and later on CNews from 2019 to 2021.

He has written many controversial articles and books focusing heavily on French identity and what he considers its decline, most notably “Le Suicide Français” (French Suicide) and “Le Premier Sexe” (The First Sex).

Zemmour founded the “Reconquête” (Recovery) party on December 5, 2021, adopting the slogan “The Impossible Is Not French,” a phrase attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte. He declared to his supporters his goal of “changing the course of history” and working to “recover France” from its then-occupation by Germany.

Zemmour has long incited against immigrants and Muslims in France, recently calling for reducing their numbers to “two million people” in France. Many in far-right circles view immigrants as the main instigators of the violence that accompanied last month’s student-led protests against the rising cost of living.

Zemmour believes foreigners should “assimilate” into French culture rather than cling to their own identities. Through his presidential bid, he seeks to prevent parents from naming their children with foreign or Muslim names, such as Mohammed, restricting choices to traditional French names.

He has also repeatedly described children of immigrants as “thieves,” “rapists,” and “killers.”

The leader of the Reconquête party calls for abolishing birthright citizenship in France and for deporting foreign criminals and job seekers who do not find employment within six months.

In 2018, he was convicted of inciting racial discrimination, and in 2020, he received another criminal sentence following remarks in which he described Muslim men and women wearing traditional religious clothing as part of an “invasion and colonization.”

He has also attacked French media, describing them as a “propaganda machine that hates France,” adding that they “spit on French history and culture, and spit on the French people they want to see disappear.”

Zemmour had previously announced his candidacy in the 2022 French presidential election, affirming his adherence to the “Great Replacement” theory promoted by far-right intellectuals and Catholic right-wing extremists. He promoted images depicting a future France and claimed that all its problems stemmed from immigrants, particularly Muslims.