Violence as French far-right TV pundit holds campaign rally

By SYLVIE CORBET
The Associated Press

VILLEPINTE, France (AP) — Some anti-racist activists were beaten up as far-right former French TV pundit Eric Zemmour held his first campaign rally near Paris. Zemmour formally declared his candidacy for April’s presidential election in a video relaying his anti-migrants, anti Islam views. The 63-year-old with multiple hate-speech convictions has unveiled his campaign’s slogan: “Impossible is not French,” a quote attributed to Napoleon. The rally on Sunday was moved to a bigger exhibition center in a northern Paris suburb to avoid clashes as a protest against Zemmour was held in Paris. Thousands took to the streets to condemn his views, marching behind a banner reading “Paris will silence the far-right.”