Giving finger, French presidential hopeful Eric Zemmour sees campaign slump
- Zemmour was caught on camera giving an opponent the middle finger following a tumultuous campaign stop in Marseille
- Zemmour, a former journalist known for his hardline anti-migration stance and Euroscepticism, has dominated the pre-election calendar with his polarising language
French far-right presidential hopeful Eric Zemmour capped a tough week on Saturday after cameras caught him giving an opponent the middle finger following a tumultuous campaign stop in Marseille.
Zemmour, a former journalist known for his hardline anti-migration stance and Euroscepticism, has dominated the pre-election calendar with his polarising language.
Opinion polls had seen him rivalling Marine Le Pen, leader of the traditional far-right Rassemblement National party, to get into the second round of next April’s presidential election.
But his campaign is stalling after various mishaps, even before he has formally announced his candidacy – something he is expected to prior to a mass rally in Paris on December 5.
Agence France-Presse snapped Zemmour sticking his middle finger out at an opponent who had just stuck her finger out at him, and quoted Zemmour saying afterwards “and very deep”.
This weekend’s trip to France’s second city, Marseille, was supposed to end his pre-candidacy campaign on a positive note, but he got a frosty welcome. One walkabout barely lasted 15 minutes with local residents crying out: “Get out, Marseille anti-fascist”!
Police eventually escorted him through the railway station as antifascism protesters demanded he leave their city.
