The New Face of the Populist Radical Right: Éric Zemmour

• In Event: 2022 Parliamentary and Presidential Elections in France

Abstract

The recent electoral breakthrough of former newspaper columnist and controversial media pundit Éric Zemmour is one of the most remarkable outcomes of the 2022 French presidential election. A political newcomer, Zemmour may be seen as yet another instance of the populist radical right, adopting the central tenets of the typical nativist, authoritarian and populist agenda. According to polls, Zemmour is set to win a substantial share of the radical right vote, thus potentially eclipsing Marine Le Pen’s more established Rassemblement National. Meanwhile, Zemmour seems to be mobilizing large swathes of right-wing conservative voters who had previously supported the Republican candidate, François Fillon, in the 2017 elections. Drawing from the National Election surveys conducted by CEVIPOF, this paper will examine the electoral competition to the right of the French party system in the 2022 presidential election. In particular, the paper will concentrate on the individual socio-economic, political and cultural drivers of the Zemmour vote. Taking Zemmour voters as the main focus, the paper will ask which factors may explain their different voting behavior when contrasted with their radical and conservative right counterparts. It is anticipated that the effect of such factors should be heterogeneous across different groups of voters and locations in the party system, reflecting the diversity in the social and ideological profile of Zemmour voters. Overall, the paper will ask whether this may initiate a new phase in the already long history of radical right politics in France, possibly heralding a more significant reshuffling of the party sub-system of the Right after the elections.

Author

• Gilles Ivaldi, Sciences-Po Paris