French polemicist, essayist and journalist, Eric Zemmour. - Jacques Witt / SIPA

The Paris prosecution announced this Saturday to AFP the opening of an investigation for "violence" and "threats" after the broadcast on social networks of an assault, by its alleged author, targeting the polemicist Eric Zemmour.

In this video, originally broadcast on the Snapchat social network, a man films Eric Zemmour on Thursday walking alone, shopping bag in hand, in the streets of Paris. The man follows him for several tens of meters, insults him several times and threatens him. Later, the man films himself facing the camera and claims to have spit on Eric Zemmour.

The investigation was entrusted to the brigade for the suppression of delinquency against the person (BRDP), according to the Paris prosecutor's office.

Many messages of support

Many political and media figures have denounced this attack or provided support to Eric Zemmour, including Secretary of State Marlène Schiappa, President of the Republicans Christian Jacob, that of the Senate Gérard Larcher, but also some of his employers, such as the channel CNews, or associations like Licra.

Public insults and threats of sexual assault are unjustifiable, whether they target a woman or a man, #EricZemmour or our friends, on the street or on Twitter!
It is not a question of people, it is a question of principles.
A principle is not variable.

- 🇫🇷 MarleneSchiappa (@MarleneSchiappa) May 1, 2020

Éric #Zemmour is an adversary, we fight his ideas. But today we express our full support to him for the manhunt and sputum of which he was the victim. Violence should never prevail or be justified. Never

- _LICRA_ (@_LICRA_) May 1, 2020

“Éric Zemmour is indifferent to fear. But as his lawyer I will not let anything go, "said Olivier Pardo on Friday on Twitter. Asked the same day by AFP, he had not responded.

The images of Eric #Zemmour's aggression bluntly show the stupidity, vulgarity and cowardice of those who attack him.

Éric Zemmour is indifferent to fear. But as his lawyer, I won't let anything go by.

- Olivier PARDO (@maitrepardo) May 1, 2020

Trial returned

Eric Zemmour must also appear for “public insult of a racial nature” and “public provocation to racial hatred” after a charge against immigration and Islam during a “Convention of the Right” at the end of September in Paris. The trial, originally scheduled for January, has been postponed. He caused the chain CNews a formal notice in December for statements on Islam and the colonization of Algeria.

In mid-September, he was finally condemned, after the rejection of his cassation appeal, to a fine of 3,000 euros for provoking religious hatred after anti-Muslim remarks made this time in 2016, on the program C à vous  on France 5. In this last case, his lawyer appealed to the European Court of Human Rights.

Television

Eric Zemmour's speech on LCI: The trial of the polemicist accused of “hate provocation” postponed

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