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October 7, 2021 - 9:30am
French polemicist Éric Zemmour is suddenly being taken seriously as a potential threat to Emmanuel Macron in next year’s French presidential election. A Harris Interactive poll published yesterday showed him in second place behind Mr Macron, at 17% to Macron’s 24%, and ahead of Marine le Pen, the leader of the National Rally (formerly the National Front). The same poll suggested he would lose to Mr Macron in the second round, but only by 55% to 45%.
There’s just one hitch: he hasn’t actually declared himself a candidate for president. Asked on the Punchline show on France’s Europe1 on Wednesday whether he would now announce, he demurred:
Asked whether he would now present a concrete programme for government, he again refused to be drawn.
We could have a system like in Germany or Italy, and have a typical election every 5 years, no — what General de Gaulle wanted for France was a “republican monarchy”, and he wanted that so that the presidency could pass above the political parties (“the meeting of a man and a people”, in the famous phrase).. and to situate the political debate at the highest possible level. That is to say, what vision for France, what destiny?
Me, I believe that France is in danger of dying — its civilisation, its culture, its people — so I consider that to be the level of the presidential election. So, you ask me for specific measures — we can talk about those, they interest me, fear not, I will offer them — but now, the moment has not yet come.
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SubscribeI was very impressed. I then asked 3 French colleagues what they thought, and they said something about the devil being preferable and he doesn’t understand economics. So who knows?
This guy is just in it to push the discussions and ask uncomfortable questions, not to be elected.
Some would say that’s how Trump started. Though admittedly the French electoral system makes it much less likely for an outsider to win, if he even stands.
Good translation.
‘in danger of dying…its civilisation, its culture , its people ‘ ( insert your own country here): Isn’t that how so many of us feel? I’m afraid that the remedies are less easy to articulate, even harder to apply.