Solène Delinger 3:57 p.m., September 12, 2021

The shadow of Eric Zemmour hangs over the entry into the campaign of Marine Le Pen.

The potential candidacy of the identity polemicist could force the president of the National Gathering to change her strategy to access the Elysee Palace, according to political scientist Jean-Yves Camus, invited to the microphone of Thomas Lequertier on Europe 1. 

INTERVIEW

His name is on everyone's lips.

Eric Zemmour is not yet officially a candidate for the presidential election but already crystallizes all the concerns, especially on the extreme right.

And for good reason, if he presented himself, the polemicist would come to hunt on the lands of Marine Le Pen, who wants to make immigration and security the two main axes of his campaign.

For Jean-Yves Camus, political scientist specializing in the far right, Marine Le Pen will have to change strategy to differentiate himself from Eric Zemmour. 

"Eric Zemmour takes voices everywhere"

"If Eric Zemmour appears, it will force Marine Le Pen to campaign much more on the first round," he explains at the microphone of Thomas Lequertier on Europe 1. "For the moment, the president of the National Rally is in a second-round campaign and is projected into an established match with Emmanuel Macron ". Marine Le Pen, who officially launched her campaign for the 2022 presidential election on Sunday 12 September during her return to school speech in Fréjus, will have to adapt. Because Eric Zemmour could easily seduce far-right activists, disappointed with the previous electoral failures of Marine Le Pen, candidate for the presidential election for the third consecutive time. "He takes votes everywhere. So it will be a complicated exercise," said Jean-Yves Camus.  

Marine Le Pen wants to seduce all voters, even on the left

Considered by the French as a divisive and even dangerous personality, Marine Le Pen will appear to be much less radical than Eric Zemmour, especially on identity and migration issues.

A real advantage for the president of the National Rally, according to Jean-Yves Camus.

Marine Le Pen indeed wants to seduce a panel of voters as large as possible to secure a place in the second round.

It is therefore necessary for her not to hold up former left voters disappointed with politics and who always oscillate between abstention and the desire to give the RN a chance.  

Marine Le Pen must still wait for the official announcement of Eric Zemmour's candidacy to organize his response. For the moment, the polemicist is still at the stage of "imprecation", not yet at that of the proposition. "But he is expected on what he would do if he were seated in the chair of the President of the Republic", underlines Jean-Yves Camus. The countdown has therefore started.