Another far-right politician joins France’s presidential race

French far-right politician Eric Zemmour has announced his candidacy for the presidential election. He vows to crack down on immigration and expel unemployed foreigners, even if they are legal residents. According to Free Malaysia Today, Zemmour also supports sending back foreign offenders, including those not in prison, and those who have been unemployed for a long time and live solely on welfare benefits.

Zemmour, head of the Reconquest party, was a distant fourth in the 2022 presidential election. His candidacy joins a crowded field, including Marine Le Pen of the National Rally party, who was runner-up to President Emmanuel Macron in the last two elections. Le Pen's chances of winning have been boosted by a court reducing her ban on holding public office for a graft conviction.

There is no direct connection between Zemmour's announcement and a separate incident in which a police officer was arrested on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack. According to Le Monde English and The Local France, the officer was detained in August on suspicion of making weapons and planning violent attacks, and was placed in detention pending trial in Paris.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Local France, Free Malaysia Today, The Local France, Le Monde English — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.