The event must be that of the launch of his campaign.
For his first big meeting on Sunday, Eric Zemmour has planned to bring together some 20,000 supporters.
Initially planned at the Zénith in Paris, this gathering should finally take place at the Parc des Expositions de Villepinte, in Seine-Saint-Denis, to allow it to welcome more people.
The decision, however, is not to the taste of the president of the department.
The elected socialist Stéphane Troussel even launched a petition to prohibit the arrival of the polemicist.
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Stéphane Troussel wishes to underline the gap between the sociology of his stronghold, and the program of the nationalist candidate.
In this "
young and multicultural department, where the inhabitants and local actors show creativity and commitment in the face of difficulties, and where 6 out of 10 people say they have been victims of discrimination in the last five years
", bring in the polemicist "
Convicted in 2011 for inciting racial hatred
" appears according to him as a "
revolting symbol
".
In a petition written on the site "pascheznous.fr" and addressed to the group "Viparis", owner of the Exhibition Center, the Socialist also stresses that the latter have signed the "
charter of diversity in business
".
A commitment which seems to him to be "
absolutely incompatible with the reception of a polemicist
" such as Eric Zemmour.
And whose foundation of the campaign is in his eyes "
racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, hatred of Muslims
".
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According to Stéphane Troussel, finally, “
the economic argument cannot justify everything
” and we cannot “
do
“
business
”
with hate merchants when we say we are defending the values of diversity
”. The Socialist thus demands from the group that owns the site that he explains himself, and urges him to refuse to hold the meeting.
This is not the first time that the now candidate has encountered the reluctance of local figures.
In November, the city councilors of London and Geneva had in turn let it be known that Eric Zemmour was "
not welcome
" in their city.
The polemicist had even been refused at the last minute access to the “Royal institution” of the British capital, initially supposed to host a signing session.