(Paris) The far-right candidate for the French presidential election Eric Zemmour on Sunday called on his supporters to “change the course of history” and go to “the reconquest” of France, during a first rally in Paris region in front of a delirious crowd.
“There are 15,000 of you today! 15,000 French people who braved political correctness, threats from the far left and hatred of the media, ”launched the 63-year-old polemicist to his excited supporters, who waved French flags and shouted“ Zemmour president! “.
“The stake is immense, if I win, it will be the beginning of the reconquest of the most beautiful country in the world”, promised the candidate, who has been building all his speech for months on the rejection of immigration and the Islam, threatening according to him “a French people who have been there for 1000 years and who want to remain master at home”.
” We are at home ! We are at home ! »Chanted the crowd.
“You have heard that I was a fascist, a racist, a misogynist,” said Eric Zemmour, twice convicted of incitement to racial hatred, before presenting himself as a personality pursued by a “pack of politicians, journalists and jihadists ”.
The candidate, whose official slogan is “Impossible is not French”, a quote attributed to Napoleon, and whose party officially launched on Sunday was called “Reconquest!” », Made, more than an hour late, a triumphant entry to the sound of music with grandiloquent accents.
Jostling
Jostling occurred in the huge hall of the Parc des Expositions de Villepinte (town located in a popular department north of Paris), upon the arrival of the candidate.
Prior to his entry, reporters from a television show known for its scathing and ironic tone had been booed and taken to safety for a moment.
An important security device was deployed around the place of the rally, and more than a hundred anti-Zemmour demonstrators, protesting against the candidate’s “racism, negationism, homophobia” were dispersed by the forces of the ‘order.
Earlier, a demonstration in Paris against the far-right candidate brought together 2,200 people, according to the police, 10,000 according to the organizers (around fifty unions, parties and associations).
PHOTO SAMEER AL-DOUMY, AFP
A demonstration in Paris against the presidential candidate, Eric Zemmour, took place on Sunday on the sidelines of his first rally.
Eric Zemmour, a former television columnist, threw himself into the presidential race on Tuesday after months of false suspense, claiming to want to “save France”.
Wrapped up in a fur coat, Maria, a retired accountant who lives in the Paris region, explains with a singing Polish accent that she supports Zemmour to fight against the “Great Replacement”, the theory according to which African and Muslim populations will replace the European peoples.
“In my street, we only speak Arabic. We must safeguard our traditions, not be overwhelmed by Muslim culture, ”says this Polish woman who arrived in France at the age of 20,“ French by marriage ”,“ refugee from a communist country ”, and who“ integrated without anything. claim “.
“He has a love for France that I do not feel in other candidates,” says François, chief financial officer in a start-up. “He has strong convictions and is not formatted,” he adds, “not in the least shocked” by the court convictions of Mr. Zemmour for provoking racial and religious hatred.
Support
The Villepinte rally is held five days after an announcement of the tumultuous candidacy of the former polemicist.
PHOTO JULIEN DE ROSA, AFP
Zemmour supporters were present at his first rally in Villepinte.
Mr. Zemmour wanted to prove that he had “transformed” from a former televised pamphleteer into a credible candidate, likely to challenge the outgoing president Emmanuel Macron and to capture the voices of the right, led by Valérie Pécresse, and of the extreme right of Marine Le Pen.
The former polemicist, who had made a dazzling breakthrough in the polls at the start of the school year, even passing in front of Marine Le Pen, finalist in the 2e turn against Emmanuel Macron in 2017. But since his star seemed to fade, and from slippages to provocations, the candidate has lost support and points in voting intentions.
To support him are present at the rally the leaders of two small identity parties and the traditional Catholic right rallied to Mr. Zemmour.
Sovereignist Paul-Marie Couteaux, former spokesperson for Marine Le Pen and friend of Eric Zemmour, booed the United States Embassy, which had advised its nationals to avoid the vicinity of the rally for security reasons .
Jacqueline Mouraud, figure of the “yellow vests”, this popular revolt movement which shook the five-year term of Emmanuel Macron in 2018 and 2019, also came to support Zemmour on behalf of “ordinary people victims of globalization”.