The 2016 US presidential election may feel like a bygone era after several tumultuous years, but in France an eerily similar situation appears to be playing out reminiscent of Donald Trump’s rise to power.
A mere six months ago Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s far-right party, the National Rally, appeared to be in a strong position for the upcoming French presidential election, despite her presidential loss in 2017. President Macron’s image and stronghold appeared to be failing thanks to his inability to control the ongoing pandemic and resentment over his tax policies and stance on immigration, whereas Marine Le Pen had maintained her supportive base, and used Macron’s failures to instigate disdain against him, thus growing her base.
Yet in a series of events not unlike former President Trump’s campaign to the White House, another far-right candidate, Éric Zemmour, has entered into the French political arena. By many standards Éric Zemmour is a man of contradictions and hypocrisy, who has used his career as a journalist and author to routinely attack modern day French society.
Who is Zemmour
The son of Algerian, Jewish immigrants, Zemmour grew up in Paris where he started his career working as a newspaper journalist, before switching to radio and television. Zemmour’s main success comes from skills as a television presenter and author. He has mastered the art of controversy, routinely making xenophobic, racist, or sexist remarks, and yet frequently avoiding the social judgement that comes with his many convictions and fines of racial hatred.
Zemmour’s Jewish identity has not prevented him from making anti-semitic public statements and promoting false statistics in regards to French complicity with the Vichy Regime of World War II. During a segment on CNews (a French far-right TV channel), Zemmour falsely claimed that Vichy sought to protect French Jews throughout the War, despite there being no such evidence to support this statement. Zemmour appears to show no recognition or connection to the immigrant experience of his parents, notoriously claiming that unaccompanied migrant children were essentially “rapists” and “murderers.”
Zemmour’s appeal stems from a variety of skills and political tactics that he has manipulated throughout the election process. His provocative statements have struck a chord with voters, similar to the way Trump won over support in 2016 by saying the unsayable. Additionally, Zemmour’s status as a public figure, not a former politician, has helped him present himself as an alternative to the routine figures seen within the French political system. As the son of immigrants, a Jew, and alumnus of the elite SciencesPo university Zemmour is able to navigate a variety of identities that he can use as a form of protection against criticism. His Jewish identity has enabled him to make antisemitic comments without fearing reproach, and his academic prowess has given him a seat at the table amongst the other intellectual elites of his generation. The complexity of Zemmour’s character and identity allows him to attract a variety of voters from diverse backgrounds, but his best trait according to French voters? He is not Marine Le Pen.
Le Pen’s weaknesses
Despite bringing the National Rally Party into the French presidential arena, Le Pen has struggled to shake off the image that is routinely associated with her and her party. The French have become accustomed to the National Rally party, ever since its creation in the late seventies. Under her father, Jean Marie Le Pen, the party achieved political success, but it was known mostly for its scandals and provocative political tactics. Since taking over the party from her father in the early 2010’s, Le Pen has done her best to modernize the National Rally, even going so far as to change its name from the National Front to the National Rally. She lost badly to Macron in the final round of the 2017 presidential election, but France was still forced to admit she had taken the party to new heights. Yet for all her efforts Le Pen has been unable to shake the older image of the National Rally; her usage of modern far-right political issues, such as promoting anti-immigration discourse and populist sentiments have resonated with voters, but her party is still seen as it was during her father’s reign when the National Rally represented Holocaust denial and pension reform. Ultimately, Zemmour’s biggest advantage stems from the fact that he has no association with Le Pen or the National Rally party. He represents the new French far-right, and thus can use his clean slate as a tool for success.
Throughout his campaign Zemmour has frequently either ignored or humiliated Le Pen. He has declared himself to be the only true far-right candidate, insisting that Le Pen has betrayed France by embodying the centrist right. He also exploited tensions within Le Pen’s own party by welcoming former National Rally figureheads to his campaign, such as Jérôme Rivière and Gilbert Collard who were former spokespeople for the National Rally. Marine Le Pen’s own father, Jean Marie Le Pen (who has a fractured relationship with her) has shown little family loyalty in an interview where he declared himself to be both sympathetic and supportive of Zemmour. The former leader of the National Rally also emphasized when he sees as an advantage of Zemmour: “The only difference between me and Mr. Zemmour is that he’s a Jew, so it’s difficult to qualify him as a Nazi or a Fascist…That gives him great freedom » Jean Marie Le Pen’s comment also acknowledges the inconfortable the truth that many have been reluctant to admit: Part of Zemmour’s success in being viewed as a legitimate far-right candidate is that his Jewish identity gives him a minority status that protects him from political and cultural reproach. Zemmour can be critized for racism, sexism, and xenophobia, but he does not have to deny associations of Nazism, unlike many other current and former far-right politicians who are known for their fascist associations. Le Pen is thus facing both the expected reality of a tense political election between rival candidates, but also dealing with the unexpected betrayal of her party members.
Zemmour’s triumph over Le Pen also stems from the political image that he has artfully crafted throughout his campaign. Both Le Pen and Zemmour have frequently drawn upon figures from France’s past throughout their campaigns, as they paint the picture of a return to the time when France ruled the continent. Le Pen has frequently evoked the image of Joan of Arc, presenting herself as a modern savior of France. With a pension for historical myths and legends, Le Pen often emphasizes France and Joan of Arc as a historical symbol of Christianity and purity in a modern and corrupted world. However Zemmour has taken a more modern historical approach, modeling himself off another « hero » of French history: resistance leader and former president, Charles de Gaulle.
Zemmour as De Gaulle
Despite his far-right politics, Zemmour’s video announcement of his 2022 presidential campaign showed an intense correlation with Charles De Gaulle’s famous speech calling for the liberation of France during World War II. Zemmour declares his presidential bid in the video while reading into an old fashioned microphone while barely making eye contact with the camera. The imagery is intense and reflects the exact movements of Charles De Gaulle in his famous speech on resistance, recognizable all across France. Zemmour’s decision to portray himself as Charles de Gaulle may appear to be an unlikely choice, given the two men’s differing political viewpoints (gaullism, a mixture of populisc liberalism and conservatism versus Zemmour’s obvious populism), but by aligning himself with one of France’s most well known and well respected war time leaders, Zemmour is convincing viewers of his legitimacy. Zemmour has succeeded in aligning himself with historical figures in a way that Marine Le Pen has not. While Le Pen has sought to reshape France into its mythical past of glory and tradition, Zemmour has focused on celebrating contemporary concrete history - a tactic that has clearly resonated with voters.
Zemmour also models himself off of more recent leaders, such as Donald Trump. Although he possesses the sophistication and vocabulary that former President Donal Trump notoriously lacked, Zemmour’s speeches reveal similar themes to Trump’s. During a speech in December, Zemmour stated that “We are a great nation, a great people. Our glorious past presages our future. Our soldiers conquered Europe and the world!” He added later that, “we will be worthy of our ancestors. We will not allow ourselves to be dominated, turned into vassals, conquered, colonized. We will not allow ourselves to be replaced.” Through his speeches Zemmour reveals the same populist tactics that won over millions of Americans in 2016.
Uniting the far and center right
Zemmour has also succeeded in ways that Le Pen has failed to do through his ability to unite the center and far-right. Thanks to his pedigree, educational background, and magnetism, Zemmour is able to establish himself as a legitimate intellectual and man of culture. He has the academic credentials that allow him to remain within the status quo, which is a useful tool when appealing to the more traditionally conservative and rigid center-right. Le Pen has never succeeded in this field, due to issues such as her gender, family history, and the national image of her party. However, thanks to the many aspects of his identity and political tactics, Zemmour can present himself as an antidote to the decades long tension between the far and center right. He offers voters on both sides the chance to unite for a populist candidate, because he can also guarantee center-right voters the promise of stability and status-quo that they are accustomed to. Zemmour has taken Le Pen’s weakest points and used them against her; in areas where she has failed, he has won. It is no wonder that the two candidates would have such strong feelings against each other. Earlier this month in an interview for Figaro, Le Pen accused Zemmour of attempting to “kill” the National Rally, depicting him as a man who seeks destruction along with victory. Yet her intense feelings on Zemmour also reveal a harsh truth for the National Rally: Zemmour has beaten Le Pen at her own game.