Elections France 2022, Zemmour launches his program and risks sinking Le Pen
Here we are. Eric Zemmour presented his electoral program in view of the French presidential elections scheduled for spring 2022. It is a very decisive program with strong sovereign and nationalist tints. Not surprisingly, the main takeout is that of the goal of zero immigration expressed by the former journalist and polemicist. Hers seems to be a popular name, although perhaps not enough to worry Emmanuel Macron in a possible ballot. Indeed, in reality many think that Zemmour’s candidacy could become a post-Christmas gift for Macron, who could benefit from the contrast between Marine Le Pen and Zemmour himself.
The other side of the coin: in the second round Pécresse can be more dangerous for Macron
Yet, there is also another side of the coin. If Zemmour takes away enough votes from Le Pen to skip the reissue of the 2017 ballot then the reasoning would change. Basically, if Macron were to challenge the Gaullist in the second round Valerie Pécresse the scenario would suddenly take on a different form. A form in which Macron would no longer have an easy time proposing himself as moderator and unitary choice, because Pécresse could steal the idea from him and make his life more difficult than a polarized vote in the case of a two-person challenge with Zemmour or Le Pen but in which in the end, as always happened in the past, the French would have to opt for the opponent of the most radical candidate.
Meanwhile, however, Zemmour presented his program. The polemicist claims he already has 60,000 members in his Reconquete party. According to the French media, the “reconquerors” they paid € 30 for a simple membership, € 50 for a supporter membership and € 100 for a benefactor membership. To be able to validate his candidacy, Zemmour must obtain the patronage of at least 50 elected political figures. According to him, he would already have the support of three hundred.
Zemmour, the goal of zero immigration at the center of the program
At the heart of its program is, as highly anticipated, immigration. The former CNews journalist told the RTL broadcaster that “the flows of legal immigration must be reduced to zero”. To achieve this, it intends to block the right to family reunification, reduce the number of people with the right to asylum to a few tens or hundreds and drastically reduce the number of foreign students in France. Already convicted several times for inciting racial hatred, Zemmour stressed that immigrants in France essentially receive social benefits.
Zemmour, in the program the cancellation of the TV license and the privatization of France Inter and France Télévisions
“55% of non-European foreigners are unemployed, inactive and therefore live at the expense of the French people. These people have to go home,” said the essayist-polemicist. Precisely for this reason, the former journalist intends to activate the expulsion procedure for those foreign citizens without work after 6 months. Zemmour has pledged to submit his immigration plan to a popular referendum, returning to the attack against the Constitutional Council which “is not competent” in the matter. Among Zemmour’s other proposals there is also that of canceling the TV fee, “which costs too much”, and also said that if he were elected he would like to privatize France Inter e France Televisions.
While waiting to see if his candidacy will prove to be a gift or a spite to Macron, Zemmour seems to be serious. And the politics and elections of recent years, read Donald Trump, they taught that underestimating someone is unwise. Macron, who in the meantime poses as a post-Merkel European Union leader, will have to bear this in mind.