Jewish far-right candidate launches French presidential bid

French far-right media pundit Eric Zemmour announces that he will run for president in next year’s election, adding his controversial and fiercely anti-immigration voice to the field of challengers seeking to unseat President Emmanuel Macron.

“I have decided to take our destiny in my hands. I have decided to run in the presidential election,” Zemmour says in a YouTube video heavy on anti-immigrant warnings and pledges to restore the country’s grandeur on the world stage.

“It is no longer the time to reform France, but to save it,” Zemmour says, claiming that many voters “no longer recognize your country.”

Denouncing the “decline and decadence” of France, he says that Macron has promised to be something new, but turned out just to be a “synthesis of his predecessors.”

The official announcement by Zemmour, the son of Algerian Jewish parents who migrated to France, suggests he believes he has the financing and backing to dislodge Macron and outshine veteran far-right leader Marine Le Pen in next April’s election.