The provocative writer who could be the next French president

The French ‘grand’ journalist Éric Zemmour is among the most watched, provocative and frequently prosecuted writers in the country. He is now contemplating a piratical presidential challenge that could blow open next year’s presidential election.

A poll last month conducted for the news magazine Valeurs Actuelles says that Zemmour could win 13 per cent of the votes in the first round of the French presidential election. That’s more impressive than it seems. In the cavalry charge of a first round, when a dozen or more candidates are possible, 13 per cent is more than enough to unsettle not just the re-election campaign of President Emmanuel Macron. It could simultaneously provoke a civil war on the French right, mark an end to the toxic dynasty of Marine Le Pen, and open a path for the radical left.

Zemmour might ultimately find it difficult to win the keys to the presidential Airbus.