Far-right French writer pledges to ban Muslim names if elected president

Far-right French political writer Eric Zemmour has said that he would ban Muslim names like Mohammed if he were to be elected as president. 

During an appearance on We Are Live to promote his latest book “La France n’a pas encore dit son dernier mot” (France has not yet said its last word), Zemmour said he would ban the name Mohammed “as it is not French”. 

It is rumoured that the polemicist will be running for the French presidential race in 2022, but he has said that he will announce it once he decides.

Zemmour has claimed that “[people] are pushing me to be a candidate, as they think that it is I who has the good ideas for France.”

France’s audiovisual regulating body has said that it would limit Zemmour’s airtime as a political commentator on French television channel CNews, arguing that he should not be allowed to use his television appearances to campaign. 

Zemmour reportedly received 10% of the vote in an opinion poll this week, while far-right candidate Marine Le Pen dropped to just 19%. 

The writer said he “had nothing against Marine Le Pen but everyone knows, and I think she knows, that she cannot win,” while speaking on BFMTV on Wednesday.