Paris (AFP)

The polemicist Eric Zemmour, who no longer hides his electoral ambitions, said Friday in Toulon that he was "a candidate for debate" and denounced as usual the "war of civilization on our soil" and the "war of minorities" that 'we must "fight".

"I ask only that, I am a candidate for the debate. (...) Democracy is the confrontation of ideas", said with laughter the editorialist close to the far right identity, during a conference which launched the promotion of his last political essay.

Mr. Zemmour, whose speaking time has been counted by the CSA since September 9, said on this subject that he had to debate with the leader of the rebellious Jean-Luc Mélenchon "on BFM Thursday evening" and is said to be "delighted".

To a man in the room who asked him "a moratorium on immigration", the framework of the right to strike and a return "to a policy of assimilation", Eric Zemmour replied "you will be forced to vote for me ".

At the end of his lecture, he was applauded with the cries of "President Zemmour".

To the press he then clarified that he "did not know" if the sale of his books would participate in the financing of a possible electoral campaign.

Eric Zemmour in Toulon for the promotion of his book "France has not said its last word", September 17, 2021 Nicolas TUCAT AFP

He confirmed that "in principle" he would speak at a conference on the family in Budapest on September 24 where the former FN deputy Marion Maréchal is also announced.

During his conference, he again denounced in Toulon "the war of civilization" which is "on our soil" where territories have been "conquered by Islam", evoking in these territories a "system of concessions (.. .) colonial ".

He also attacked "the war waged" in his eyes "by minorities" who "want to destroy (...) first symbolically, first of reputation, and then it will end physically", in the name "of freedom, in the name of anti-racism, in the name of feminism, in the name of a conception they call + woke + ", a term designating the awareness of injustices.

A reader holds Eric Zemmour's last book, September 17, 2021 in Toulon Nicolas TUCAT AFP

He attacked "the so-called" comedians who are "watchdogs of the dominant ideology" citing comedian Charline Vanhoenacker for having hijacked one of his posters.

© 2021 AFP