I am ready, says Zemmour, as he cements lead over rival Le Pen

ERIC ZEMMOUR, the Right-wing French television pundit, continues to cement a lead over Marine Le Pen and is likely to make it into the round of the presidential election in April along with President Emmanuel Macron, according to new polling.

The chat show star, who has been convicted for inciting hatred, has dominated the French airwaves in recent months with provocative comments about Islam, immigrants and women.

An Ifop-fiducial poll for newspaper Le Figaro and TV station LCI, published by BFM TV, showed Mr Zemmour would win 17 per cent of the first-round vote, well behind Mr Macron with 25 per cent but just ahead of Ms Le Pen on 16 per cent. Xavier Bertrand, a conservative, is projected to take 13 per cent support if he wins the primary for the Les Républicains party.

Mr Zemmour and Mr Macron have not yet said whether they will run.

The new poll is yet another blow to Mrs Le Pen, whose Rassemblement National party has dominated the French far-right for decades.

At the last election in 2017 she won 21.3 per cent of the votes in round one but lost to Macron’s 66.1 per cent in the run-off. For more than a year, polls have shown her easily making it into the second round once again. But last month two polls showed Mr Zemmour jumping into second place for the first time.

In his latest round of controversial remarks, Mr Zemmour said in an interview with BFM on Sunday that women earned less than men because they chose low-paying professions.

While he has not officially declared that he will run for the presidency, he told BFM that an organisation had been set up that is preparing a possible bid.

“Everything is ready. All I have to do is decide and push the button. I decide when and how,” he said.

Mr Zemmour also proposed raising speed limits in a pitch for the support of the gilets jaunes movement, which has blockaded roads and petrol stations to protest the cost of living in the past.

Mr Zemmour has emerged as the most talked about potential challenger to Mr Macron by backing euroscepticism, non-urban voters and motorists.

Last month he said France’s pointsbased system for driving licences, which raises about €73million (£63million) every year in fines, is “state-organised racketeering”.

‘Everything is ready. All I have to do is decide and push the button. I decide when and how’