Éric Zemmour, a prominent political figure known for his extremist anti-Islam and anti-immigrant views, announced on Tuesday his candidacy for the upcoming French presidential election. The leader of the party “Reconquête,” Zemmour stated in an interview with TF1 TV, “I confirm that I will indeed be a candidate in the presidential election. I intend to maintain a France that is distinctly French, ensuring that the future of our nation remains rooted in this identity.”
Zemmour, 68, transitioned from a career as a journalist and television commentator into politics five years ago. He promotes stricter immigration policies and calls for the expulsion of unemployed foreigners, even if they hold legal residency. Zemmour is associated with the Great Replacement theory, which asserts that an influx of Muslims is intentionally altering the demographic composition of France. He has encountered legal challenges for inciting racial discrimination in 2011 and for promoting hatred against Muslims in 2018. His appeal to the European Court of Human Rights regarding one of these convictions was unsuccessful.
In 2020, Zemmour faced a criminal conviction for remarks that labelled Muslim women and men wearing traditional religious attire as part of an “invasion” and “colonisation.” In the 2022 presidential election, he garnered considerable attention but ultimately received slightly more than 7.5% of the vote. In contrast, Marine Le Pen, leader of the Rassemblement National (National Rally or RN) party, secured over 23% of the vote and advanced to the second round against President Emmanuel Macron. Zemmour’s anti-Le Pen conduct during the campaign created tensions with her, leading to his and his party’s exclusion from collaborative efforts among far-right factions in France.
Reconquête, his party, was established in late 2021, with Marion Maréchal, niece of Marine Le Pen, serving as its vice president. The party secured five seats in the 2024 European Parliament elections in France. However, during the 2024 snap legislative election campaign, Zemmour expelled MEP Maréchal, who publicly supported the National Rally, in June 2024. Following her expulsion, she assumed leadership of the Identity–Liberties (IL) party in October 2024. Additionally, three other MEPs were expelled for supporting her, leaving Reconquête with a single MEP, Sarah Knafo. The IL is currently aligned with the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group in the European Parliament. Subsequently, Reconquête joined the right-wing extremist Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) Group, led by the Alternative for Germany (AfD). Despite these strategic moves, Reconquête experienced a significant decline in support and did not secure any seats in the first round of the 2024 French legislative elections held in June 2024.
Additionally, three candidates in France’s far-right political landscape have announced their intention to run in the presidential elections. On 10 November, Florian Philippot, who served as Vice President of Le Pen’s former party, the National Front, from 2012 to 2017, declared his candidacy. Philippot founded the Patriots party in September 2017, which has since struggled to gain significant representation in subsequent elections. Earlier this month, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, leader of the Debout la France party, also announced his candidacy for the 2027 presidential election. Finally, François Asselineau, president of the anti-EU Popular Republican Union (UPR) and an advocate for France’s unilateral withdrawal from the European Union, the Eurozone, and NATO, has also confirmed his intention to run for the presidency.
