Zemmour Brings Trump-Like Audience Boost to French Media Tycoons
- Zemmour draws viewers even as he slips in election polls
- Networks run by Bollore, Drahi see Zemmour push up viewership
The way Eric Zemmour tells it, Muslim immigrants are ruining France, which needs to defend its “Frenchness.” A “Great Replacement” is underway, with the White French population being demographically and culturally eclipsed by Arabs and sub-Saharan Muslims.
Such pronouncements have made the commentator-turned-presidential candidate an attention-grabber in France. They have also bolstered the viewership of billionaire Vincent Bollore’s CNews -- until recently Zemmour’s main platform -- catapulting it closer to being the country’s most-watched TV news channel. Even its main rival BFMTV, part of the Altice group owned by billionaire Patrick Drahi, hasn’t been able to avoid the lure of Zemmour. A September prime-time debate between Zemmour and far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon drew BFM’s second-highest audience ever.