A 73-year-old MEP and lawyer, Mr. Collard participated in the evening at the meeting at the Palais des Victoires, a 4,000-seat room full for Eric Zemmour, at the conclusion of his trip to the Alpes-Maritimes.

Gilbert Collard, who was relatively marginalized in the RN, stressed that he had "nothing against Marine Le Pen. I will never say anything against her", before praising his new champion.

Eric Zemmour has multiplied calls for "the union of the rights" between voters of the RN and LR, to "stop immigration and assistantship".

"I don't want Cannes to be wild in its turn", launched the candidate Reconquête!.

After several highly publicized "squats" cases in the region, he also denounced the "scandal" of "home invasions" and promised "the immediate eviction of squatters without going through the courts".

"I don't want kebabs in all the villages of France!", He also let loose under the cheers.

Saturday morning, the candidate strolled for two hours at the Forville market in Cannes, receiving a favorable reception.

Far-right French presidential candidate Eric Zemmour surrounded by journalists upon his arrival at the Forville market in Cannes, January 22, 2022 Bertrand GUAY AFP

He was surrounded by two defectors from the RN: MEP Jérôme Rivière and former member of Generation Identity Damien Rieu.

Of sensitivity close to Marion Maréchal, they have in common to invoke "the union of the rights", the Catholic identity of France, and to judge that Marine Le Pen has "softened" in her anti-immigration speech.

"Bitterness and Jealousy"

"The egos overheat and the betrayals bathe in all the rubicons of bitterness and childish jealousies", lambasted on Twitter Louis Aliot, the RN mayor of Perpignan, who remained faithful to the Le Pen camp.

The candidate will have the opportunity to react on Sunday, during her appearance on the Sunday in politics program on France 3.

Then next week, she travels to Madrid with allied parties, to display her international stature.

The candidate has already announced the presence of MEP Nicolas Bay in Spain, in response to rumors about her possible rallying to Eric Zemmour.

Frontist deputy Gilbert Collard at a press conference on December 4, 2012 in Paris Martin Bureau AFP / Archives

Before the departure of Gilbert Collard, Marine Le Pen had minimized the phenomenon on Thursday.

"In the electoral campaigns, there are always some vicissitudes", "of an interest inversely proportional to the effect that it has on the voters", she smiled at Fréjus.

"The salami technique of announcing a rally every day, I know it by heart. The Chiraquians have known it with Balladur. (...) It lasted much longer than it will last with Eric Zemmour", ironized- she.

At this stage, the RN candidate remains above Mr. Zemmour in the opinion polls, which place her neck and neck with the right-wing candidate Valérie Pécresse, often around 17 or 18% in the first round, ahead of Eric Zemmour (around 13%), but far behind Emmanuel Macron (24% to 25%).

The rallies of elected RNs at Zemmour "it sets up a trend" and Marine Le Pen "seems out of breath", believes a source close to the two campaigns.

The president of the National Rally (RN) and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, January 14, 2022 in Erquy (Côtes-d'Armor) DAMIEN MEYER AFP / Archives

The former polemicist, on the other hand, seems to struggle more to convince executives among the Republicans (LR), apart from the former number 2 Guillaume Peltier.

"Be patient! February and March count more than January," replied the bravado on Friday evening.

Eric Zemmour displays his rallies to try to bounce back after a delicate sequence of 8 days.

His remarks on the "obsession with inclusion" of children with disabilities in school caused a bronca.

He was also sentenced Monday to 10,000 euros in fines for incitement to hatred, for comments made in 2020 on CNews about unaccompanied migrant minors.

He appealed.

Some wonder especially about the "recomposition" post 2022 in the event of failure of the two far-right rivals in the presidential election.

With in ambush, Marion Maréchal, who had accompanied Mr. Zemmour to Budapest, but did not clearly express a preference between his aunt Marine Le Pen and the former polemicist.

© 2022 AFP