French far-right politician Eric Zemmour said on Friday, September 18, that he would run in next year's presidential election, vowing to crack down on immigration and expel unemployed foreigners even if they were legal residents. "I will be a candidate in the presidential election," the head of the Reconquête party, who was a distant fourth with 7.07% of the vote in the 2022 election, told the BFMTV broadcaster.
He joins the fray as more prominent far-right candidate Marine Le Pen is eyeing her best chance at winning power next year when President Emmanuel Macron steps down, after a court in July reduced her ban on holding public office for a graft conviction. The veteran politician from the anti-immigration Rassemblement National party, who was runner-up to Macron in the last two elections, has been widely projected to lead in the first round of the vote.
Zemmour supports a halt to immigration as well as "remigration" of foreigners back to their countries. "All foreign offenders must be sent back, even those who are not in prison," he said. "We must also, obviously, send back undocumented immigrants. We must also send back those who have been unemployed for a long time, and all those who live solely on welfare benefits."
Facts Only
* Eric Zemmour stated he will be a candidate in the presidential election.
* Zemmour vowed to crack down on immigration and expel unemployed foreigners, even legal residents.
* Zemmour supports a halt to immigration and the "remigration" of foreigners.
* Zemmour stated that all foreign offenders must be sent back, including those not in prison.
* Zemmour called for the return of undocumented immigrants.
* Zemmour called for the return of those who have been unemployed for a long time and those living solely on welfare benefits.
* Eric Zemmour heads the Reconquête party.
* In the 2022 election, Zemmour received 7.07% of the vote.
* Marine Le Pen is also eyeing a chance at winning power next year.
* The Rassemblement National party was Zemmour's political affiliation.
Executive Summary
Eric Zemmour announced his intention to run in the upcoming presidential election, advocating for policies that include crackdowns on immigration and the expulsion of unemployed foreigners, even among legal residents. He supports a policy of halting immigration and "remigration" of foreigners. His stance involves requiring the return of all foreign offenders and undocumented immigrants, as well as those who have been unemployed for extended periods or rely solely on welfare benefits.
Zemmour aligns himself with other far-right figures, such as Marine Le Pen, who is also positioning herself as a leading candidate following a recent legal decision concerning her public office ban. The incumbent Rassemblement National party, from which Zemmour originates, was the runner-up in the 2022 election and is projected to lead the first round of votes alongside Le Pen when President Macron steps down.
Full Take
The articulation of policies by far-right figures frames complex demographic and economic issues as matters of immediate punitive action, focusing on the expulsion of specific groups defined by their legal status or economic contribution. This narrative links immigration policy directly to socio-economic outcomes—unemployment and welfare dependency—creating a framework where migration is framed not as a complex geopolitical issue but as an immediate resource management problem demanding forceful territorial control. The juxtaposition of Zemmour’s calls for "remigration" with the established political positioning of Marine Le Pen suggests a convergence among right-wing factions seeking to redefine national borders and internal socio-economic stratification through exclusionary policies.
The pattern observed is the strategic elevation of economic anxiety (unemployment, welfare) to justify radical demographic solutions (expulsion). This functions by simplifying complex causality into a direct cause-and-effect relationship: foreign presence leads to domestic economic strain, necessitating forceful removal. The implications for human agency involve transforming legal residency status into conditional rights based on perceived utility or compliance with a nationalist economic vision. The absence of discussion regarding the mechanisms by which current immigration policies have historically correlated with unemployment or welfare dependency means these claims operate as prescriptive solutions rather than descriptive analyses.
What assumptions are being reinforced here? Does the focus on expelling the unemployed presuppose that the current structure of state responsibility is inherently flawed, and that a return to perceived historical demographic control offers a solution for domestic economic stability? How does framing "remigration" into policy language influence public perception of legal and extra-legal migration flows? What alternatives exist outside this binary of expulsion or integration to address unemployment and social welfare concerns sustainably?
Sentinel — Human
This text reads like standard, fact-based political reporting synthesizing public statements and existing electoral context.