Violence as French far-right TV pundit holds campaign rally

VILLEPINTE – Anti-racism activists were beaten up Sunday arsenic far-right erstwhile French TV pundit Eric Zemmour held his archetypal statesmanlike run rally adjacent Paris, a fewer days aft helium formally declared his candidacy successful a video highlighting his anti-migrant and anti-Islam views.

Zemmour has drawn comparisons successful France to erstwhile U.S. President Donald Trump due to the fact that of his rabble-rousing populism and ambitions of making the leap from the tiny surface to nationalist enactment successful France's statesmanlike predetermination successful April. The 63-year-old with aggregate hate-speech convictions unveiled his campaign’s slogan: “Impossible is not French,” a punctuation attributed to Napoleon.

“What’s astatine involvement is huge,” Zemmour said. "If I triumph that election, it won’t beryllium 1 much (political) changeover, but the opening of the reconquest of the astir beauteous state successful the world.”

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Supporters astatine the rally sang France’s nationalist anthem, shouted “Zemmour, president!” and “We volition win!” portion brandishing the tricolor French flag. AP reporters saw immoderate activists dressed successful achromatic with “No to racism” connected their sweaters being beaten up by radical astatine the rally and brutally taken retired of the room. The scuffles continued extracurricular the country betwixt anti-racism activists and information guards.

Reporters from a French tv amusement covering authorities were booed and insulted by Zemmour’s supporters up of his speech, starring them to beryllium concisely escorted extracurricular the country by information guards. They came backmost soon afterward but Zemmour harshly criticized the media successful his speech.

“They are making up polemics astir books I wrote 15 years ago, they snoop into my backstage life, telephone maine each benignant of names... My adversaries privation my governmental death, journalists privation my societal decease and jihadists privation my death,” helium said.

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The rally, which was initially to held successful a Paris performance hall, was moved to a bigger accumulation halfway successful a bluish suburb of the superior for information reasons arsenic a protestation against Zemmour took spot Sunday successful Paris, organized by implicit 50 organizations including far-left governmental parties, unions and anti-racist groups. Police had feared clashes with Zemmour's far-right supporters.

In the fashionable Paris vicinity of Barbes, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets Sunday, marching down a banner speechmaking “Paris volition soundlessness the far-right.”

Pauline Salingue, a spokeswoman for the caput of the New Anti-Capitalist Party, said radical “shouldn’t beryllium seduced by these alleged anti-system profiles. Zemmour is simply a multimillionaire, Zemmour earns tens of thousands of euros per month, truthful however tin helium unreal to correspond the small people, arsenic helium likes to say? It is simply a precise superior scam.”

Zemmour has gained spot connected France’s governmental country successful caller months, starting to siphon disconnected supporters from far-right National Party person Marine Le Pen, who has agelong said she would tally for the French presidency adjacent year.

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His archetypal rally came 1 time aft France's main blimpish Republicans enactment picked its statesmanlike candidate. Valérie Pécresse, the caput of the Paris portion and a erstwhile curate from 2007 to 2012, arsenic its statesmanlike candidate.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who defeated Le Pen successful the 2017 statesmanlike runoff, is expected to question a 2nd word but helium has yet to state his candidacy.

The far-left person of the Rebel France party, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who is seeking the presidency for the 3rd time, besides staged a rally connected Sunday, gathering respective 1000 supporters successful Paris.

Other statesmanlike candidates connected the near see Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo for the Socialist enactment and Yannick Jadot, a erstwhile Greenpeace activist, for the Greens.

Those attending rallies for Zemmour and Mélenchon were not required to amusement their French COVID-19 wellness passes, successful enactment with a determination from the Constitutional Council that said the passes should not beryllium utilized to restrict entree to governmental meetings.

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Wearing a disguise is mandatory successful nationalist gatherings, yet galore Zemmour supporters astatine the rally successful Villepinte defied the authorities restriction.

Coronavirus infections person jumped successful France implicit the past fewer weeks, with regular caller cases getting adjacent to 40,000 connected average, and virus-related hospitalizations and deaths are again rising.

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Associated Press journalists Boubkar Benzabat and Patrick Hermansen successful Paris, Florian Brunet and Philippe Marion successful Villepinte contributed to the story.

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