Moscow picks its favorite for the 2022 French presidential elections

Russia stepped up its intervention in French domestic politics ahead of the 2022 presidential elections with the aim to influence their results. Erik Zemmour is going to be the Kremlin’s favorite in the election race. In this context, by using social media campaigns and propaganda channels RT France Moscow intensifies its activity to discredit President Macron.

Zemmour’s key electorate is portrayed by the voters disappointed by Marine Le Pen, and supporters of the right-wing Republican candidate François Fillon. But for many French left-wing voters it is more important to keep the ultra-right forces far from influencing politics.

If Le Pen leads among women and young people, Zemmour leads among the old, managers and white collars. Le Pen is still strongly supported by workers; however, Zemmour’s biggest fans are artisans/merchants. Geographically, Zemmour is ahead of Le Pen in the metropolitan area of ​​Paris.

Official Russian information resources have started open offensive information campaign against the incumbent President Macron.

The Kremlin hopes that a pro-Russian politician’s victory in the French elections will end formation of the Moscow-Berlin-Paris axis enabling to minimize Washington’s influence on the European Union.

Moscow is inspired by Zemmur’s enthusiastic pro-Russian statements about Putin. In addition Russians are impressed by Zemmour’s program of France’s withdrawal from NATO and the European Union. In fact, these goals are strategic for Russia since its successful implementation will allow Moscow to split Europe again and increase its pressure, military and economical, on the countries.

Over past years, Russia has significantly undermined French positions in Africa and done big damage to France’s influence in the world. The ideas of Paris’ withdrawal from the EU and NATO give Moscow hope for Paris’ isolation and creation of a Russian-French Alliance aimed at undermining positions of the United States and Great Britain in Europe.

The Kremlin changes its French favorites. Obviously, Moscow has been disappointed with the leader of the National Party, Marine Le Pen, who was financed through loans granted by a bank of Russian origin. In the 2017 French elections Moscow counted on François Fillon who was found guilty in a fraud case of using public funds to pay his wife for the fake job. In the upcoming election, Moscow changes its priority by picking Erik Zemmour. His style, resulted in accusations of hatred and violence fuel in 2009, matches Russia’s strategy in provoking crises in Western Europe and the USA. Zemmour’s position on territorial claims against the Belgian Wallonia is taken in Moscow as the sweetest. Obviously, Russia sees separatism trends in Europe as extremely interesting; this very tendency may increase the Kremlin’s interest in Zemmour’s victory.

Since Zemmour is experiencing a shortage of financial resources, there is a high probability that Russia will try to give him financial resources necessary enough for the election campaign, and, in addition, to use the controlled-francophone media resources for his promotion.