Beziers (AFP)

The far-right mayor of Béziers (Hérault) Robert Ménard, who had invited polemicist Eric Zemmour on Saturday, implored him, as well as Marine Le Pen (RN), to "meet again next February" to unite before the presidential election.

"To unite the rights is to be able to put France before the ego of each other," pleaded Mr. Ménard in front of 1,200 people gathered in a room in Béziers to see Eric Zemmour.

"I will ask, I will wish, I will implore, that you two, you and Marine, Marine and you, to meet again next February, everyone knows that it is at this moment that things crystallize", a- he asked.

Robert Ménard, who had already promised to support Ms. Le Pen in 2022, asked that this February deadline "whoever will be behind the other agrees to withdraw".

"But we are in October, we are not yet in February," he added.

"I have a little trouble withdrawing when I haven't introduced myself yet."

"This is not my subject. My subject is defending my ideas and being heard by as many people as possible. I am not in a partisan logic. The presidential election by universal suffrage is not an election to be Prime Minister ", he then developed in front of a group of journalists who questioned him on the appeal launched to him by Robert Ménard.

"When I say Marine Le Pen will never win, I say what everyone knows (...) Before I was taken into account by the polls, we had a very high Marine Le Pen but unable to win the second round and we had a right-wing candidate unable to reach the second round because Marine Le Pen was too high. And Mr. Macron was quietly waiting for his second round (...) and he was going to win. That's what my presence has upset, "he added, without wanting to say whether or not he will be a candidate.

Eric Zemmour follows Marine Le Pen in the Ifop Fiducial poll for the Figaro published on Friday, behind Emmanuel Macron, still in the lead in voting intentions.

On Monday, several personalities from the National Rally (RN) had called on Eric Zemmour to "not divide the national camp" in the face of "gravedigger" Emmanuel Macron.

Frequently prosecuted for controversial statements, Eric Zemmour has been released several times but also convicted of incitement to racial discrimination in 2011 and of incitement to hatred towards Muslims in 2018.

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