Eric Zemmour Declares Candidacy for French Presidency, Vowing Stricter Immigration Policies

Far-right French politician Eric Zemmour has announced his intention to run in the upcoming presidential election. "I can confirm to you that I will indeed be a candidate in the presidential election," Zemmour stated in an interview with TF1 TV, expressing his goal to "keep a France that is French." The 68-year-old author and television commentator, who previously finished fourth in the 2022 presidential election, outlined his platform which includes the expulsion of foreign offenders currently imprisoned and the removal of "foreign unemployed people who have been out of work for more than six months," even if they are legal residents. Zemmour aims to reduce the number of immigrants in France by "two million," a sentiment echoed by many on the far-right who attribute recent violence during student-led cost of living protests to immigrants. This announcement comes as Marine Le Pen, the candidate for the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party in the 2027 presidential election, has seen a surge in popularity following last month's unrest. Le Pen is widely projected to win the election to succeed Emmanuel Macron. In parallel, far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon of the France Unbowed party, who has faced accusations of inciting the unrest, presented his programme to approximately 17,000 supporters.