"A message to the French" will be "broadcast on our social networks", followed by 8 p.m. on TF1, the same source said on Monday evening, confirming information from several media.

Several members of his entourage have already tweeted #Zemmourcandidat.

Four and a half months before the election, the former editorialist of Figaro and CNews, obsessed with immigration and Islam, is therefore preparing to launch officially after an electric pre-campaign, enamelled with many controversies.

Eric Zemmour, 63, is due to hold his first real campaign meeting on Sunday afternoon at the Zénith in Paris.

The CGT, Solidaires and anti-fascist activists have already promised a demonstration to "silence Zemmour" at 1 pm in the capital.

By declaring himself Tuesday, the polemicist, who aims to bring together right-wing and far-right voters, parasitizes the process of investiture underway among the LRs who decide between their five contenders from Wednesday to Saturday.

Poster by Eric Zemmour, in Willer-sur-Thur (Haut-Rhin, November 9, 2021 SEBASTIEN BOZON AFP / Archives

They must debate one last time on television on Tuesday evening, just after the 8 p.m. newscast.

Eric Zemmour, twice convicted of incitement to racial hatred in the past, declares himself at a time when the polls settle around 14 to 15% of voting intentions in the first round, behind outgoing President Emmanuel Macron (25% ) and the RN candidate Marine Le Pen (between 19 and 20%).

He concluded a heckled visit to Marseille on Saturday with an exchange of fingers of honor with a passerby.

A "very inelegant" gesture, he agreed the next day.

"Not the best period"

Stanislas Rigault, who leads "Generation Z", the candidate's youth movement, recognized a "complicated" moment in Marseille.

"It's not the best period", but "I don't think the momentum will run out of steam, we have a Zenith that will be filled," he said on BFMTV.

“It happens. 12pm, 8pm,” he tweeted Monday night.

The supporters of Zemmour pride themselves on having already weighed on the themes of the campaign, particularly on the fight against immigration, the number 1 subject of the polemicist, associated with his criticisms of Islam, a "civilization" he judge "incompatible with the principles of France".

Eric Zemmour at the "Made in France" show, Porte de Versailles in Paris, November 14, 2021 Thomas SAMSON AFP / Archives

Its program beginnings promise a referendum on immigration, the abolition of land rights or family reunification and the ban on having a first name of foreign origin, a proposal that has sparked controversy in France.

Eric Zemmour is a follower of the conspiracy theory of the "great replacement" of the European population by non-European immigrants.

The controversies multiplied during his pre-campaign, in parallel with the promotion of his latest book.

Notably when Eric Zemmour pointed a gun at journalists during a visit to a security fair or chose to go to the Bataclan, on the anniversary of November 13, to accuse former President François Hollande of not having "not protected the French".

He also arouses indignation when he asserts, against the advice of historians, that Pétain would have "saved the Jews of France" during the Second World War.

Her rival Marine Le Pen (RN) regularly marks her difference, by contesting the "displaced radicalism" of the polemicist, whom she judges that he has not "transformed" into a candidate, and hopes that he "refocuses" it .

A passerby gives a middle finger to the far-right polemicist Éric Zemmour, November 27, 2021 in Marseille Nicolas TUCAT AFP

Even in the cover of his latest book, "France has not said its last word", Eric Zemmour claims to be inspired by former US President Donald Trump, even if he does not benefit from the support of a great party.

The constitution of a network on the ground will be one of its many challenges, if only to collect the 500 sponsorships of elected officials necessary for a presidential candidacy.

His camp ensures to rely on 250 to 300 sponsorship pledges.

He will also have to collect donations for his campaign, while he has already lost the support of financier Charles Gave, who lent him 300,000 euros.

The polemicist is also accused of sexual assault according to several testimonies of women collected by Mediapart.

But no complaint has been announced against him.

© 2021 AFP