Who is Eric Zemmour? Is he going to win the next presidential French election?

Quick biography about Eric Zemmour

Born August 31, 1958 in Montreuil in Seine-Saint-Denis, Eric Zemmour comes from a family of Jewish traders of Berber origin. After studying political science at the IEP in Paris, he tried his luck twice in the ENA entrance exam, to no avail.

After starting his journalistic career in 1986 at Le Quotidien de Paris, he joined the editorial staff of Le Figaro as a political journalist until 2009. He was also a freelance writer for Marianne and Valeurs Today.

At the same time, the journalist made his television debut in 2003 in shows like Ça se dispute on the i> Télé channel, Friday Pétantes on Canal, but above all We are not lying on France 2. Between 2006 and 2011, with Eric Naulleau, he creates many controversies in the Laurent Ruquier show. His positions make him a very popular public figure, and also allow him to win several distinctions: the Richelieu Prize in 2011 and the Freedom of Expression Prize in 2010.

Columnist in Z like Zemmour on RTL, since 2011 he presents alongside his sidekick Eric Naulleau the weekly debate Zemmour and Naulleau. Also on CNews in Face à l’info until September 2021, he has published several shocking books including Le Premier Sexe (2006) and Mélancolie française (2010).

On the private side, Eric Zemmour met lawyer Mylène Chichportich in 1982. They married and gave birth to three children: Hugo (1997), Thibault (1998) and Clarisse (2004).

French Presidential Election 2022

Information as 4th October 2021

Support team:  Les Amis d’Eric Zemmour
Political Party: New – TBC / Right Wing (Eric Zemmour often reffered to the RPR, a previous right wing political party)

At the start of the 2021 school year, he reveals that he has presidential claims for the 2022 election.

From 2019, Eric Zemmour’s possible candidacy for the 2022 presidential election is mentioned. With Patrick Buisson, with whom he is close, he then announced that he was thinking about a “platform of ideas for the right”. He received the public support of several far-right figures, including the mayor of Orange, Jacques Bompard, and appeared as an alternative to Marine Le Pen, clearly beaten in the presidential elections of 2012 and 2017. The media noted the presence in his entourage of the young enarque Sarah Knafo, who plays the intermediary in order to prepare his candidacy within the right.

The “Les Amis d’Eric Zemmour” association was launched in April 2021, while the “Generation Z” collective brings together several hundred of its young supporters. The polemicist also receives the support of Charles Gave, a millionaire close to the identity far right. According to a Radio France survey, the campaign’s fundraiser would be Julien Madar, a former investment banker at Rothschild, assisted by a dozen other financial personalities (such as investment banker Jonathan Nadler, who worked for Rothschild before being hired by JP Morgan) or media such as Paul-Marie Coûteaux, director of the magazine Nouveau Conservateur.

Several political figures wonder about a possible mix of genres of an editorial writer who would behave like a politician leaving doubt about his candidacy, as well as the advisability of counting his speaking time and his travels in the accounts of campaign under the regulations on pluralism and equality between candidates. As of September 9, 2021, the Superior Audiovisual Council (CSA) asks television channels to count his speaking time, considering that he could be considered “as an actor in the national political debate”. While Éric Zemmour reacted by declaring that “the CSA is now taking over from the judges”, this decision divides the political class. CNews announced in the aftermath of its discontinuation of its participation in the show Face àinfo. A few hours later, the polemicist announced the creation of his YouTube channel. On September 29, Paris Première suspended the show Zemmour et Naulleau due to the decision of the CSA.

From mid-2021, pollsters are testing Eric Zemmour’s candidacy for the presidential election. First credited with 5% of voting intentions in the first round, it dropped to 15% at the end of September, just behind Marine Le Pen. While the media indicate that he has started to seek the 500 sponsorships necessary to present himself, he sends elected officials a brochure entitled “Getting to know Eric Zemmour better” in order to convince them to grant him their sponsorship: according to Le Canard enchaîné, there he affects an almost “Chiraquian” posture, far removed from his usual invectives. At the same time, he launched his Crossroads website, and began a series of conferences across France.

Our forecasts on the 4th Oct 2021

Eric Zemmour has a 30% chance of winning the election, with an opportunity to gather more support from both extreme right and the center. Eric Zemmour is a talentuous speaker who can talk to all classes in societies.  In opposition, President Macron can leverage the population who are strongly against Eriz Zemmour.

Challenges and opportunities: Eric Zemmour is not a professional politician and got the opportunity to display the past government mistakes. His knowledge about the French history and is positionning to put France first has a strong impact on the Frenchs looking for a stronger country going toward one direction. It is more likely that minorities and lobbies will have less impact on the government decisions under Eric Zemmour due to his strong vision of the society, support of French traditions & France military and energetic independance. He needs to tackle President Macron on his past mistakes, work on the left wing electorate, make justice, lower the social expenses, explain how he is going to bring back industrial jobs & make a clear proposal to the French people on how he is going to resolve today and future issues in the French society.