Marseille: a nun scares off anti-fascists after lunch Zemmour

According to France's Boulevard Voltaire, the restaurant that had hosted Éric Zemmour a few hours before was ransacked by around fifty anti-fascist activists. They threw flaming rubbish bags at the establishment while staff and an older woman were inside.

The next day, individuals tagged the front of the restaurant again. But someone managed to chase them away. As the restaurant manager reported on Monday, "a Catholic nun made these delinquents run away".

Female voice

He first described: "I saw a nun come out into the street to take back the individuals who were tagging my restaurant". The nun reportedly asked the anti-fascists what they were doing. The individuals did not hesitate to justify their actions by saying that Éric Zemmour was "a fascist". The nun is said to have retorted immediately: "You are the fascists", says the establishment owner.

Speaking to Boulevard Voltaire, the nun said: "There were four men tagging the front of the pavement I was walking on. This had already been badly damaged the day before. I asked them what they were doing. They told me it was "a fascist restaurant" because it had hosted Éric Zemmour. I told them that it didn't make sense. I told them "Please leave", in a straightforward way.

Was it my female voice that surprised them? In any case, they left very quickly before the police arrived.”

The restaurant owner is, in any case, marked by these attacks. "I'm not afraid, but when faced with fifty people, there's not much you can do". The manager estimates the damage at about 4000 euros and has reported it to the police.

Middle finger

Zemmour's visit to Marseille did not go unnoticed for another reason either. In the city, he said in front of the cameras that Marseille "is the anti-image for the country. If nothing changes, France will become an immense Marseille". As he headed back to the station in his car, a passer-by beckoned him over. She greeted him with a middle finger, to which Zemmour did the same.

Incidentally, just before he was due to travel to Marseille, Zemmour was told that the tabloid Closer would be unveiling the pregnancy of his young advisor and campaign manager, Sarah Knafo. The magazine would insinuate that the baby is Zemmour's fourth child. Zemmour has described the report as an invasion of his privacy but has not contradicted it.

French Trump

The French commentator Éric Zemmour announced on Tuesday that he will run in the 2022 presidential elections. The former journalist, writer, and media personality stated in a video message that he wants to "save" France. He said that many voters no longer recognise their own country.

Zemmour's participation does not come as a surprise. He shot up in the polls before he even declared his candidacy. The French Trump, as he is sometimes described, would receive 14 to 15 per cent of the vote if a presidential election were held now, according to a recent poll.

The 63-year-old Zemmour is thus behind two other candidates: incumbent President Emmanuel Macron (25 per cent) and the right-wing Marine Le Pen (19 to 20 per cent).

With his statements on Islam and migration, Zemmour goes further than Le Pen. He has noted that Muslims are "colonising" his country and suggested banning foreign first names, such as Mohammed and Kevin. Le Pen accuses him of creating unnecessary division.