Before he has even declared his candidacy, in a month he has more than doubled, from 7% at the beginning of September to 15% at the beginning of October, the percentage of the electorate that favors him for president. Meanwhile, Marine Le Pen – Zemmour’s chief rival on the Islamocritical right, has in the same period seen a decrease of 6% in the percentage of the electorate that favors her, dropping from 22% to 16%. And she keeps sinking, while Zemmour keeps rising, in the polls, and at 15%, is now running neck-and-neck with Le Pen.

When Zemmour appears on television for interviews with hostile hosts, who interrupt his every second sentence, trying to prevent him from speaking even though he had been invited on, presumably, so that he might explain his positions, he manages nonetheless to keep calm, and to express, lucidly, with force, with eloquence, his fears for the future of France and what he thinks must be done to secure that future. For one example of his ability to deal so effectively with his often aggressive and hostile interlocutors, see this example, an encounter with the abysmal television journalist Jean-Jacques Bourdin.

The comments underneath the video are full of praise for Zemmour’s brilliant and superhumanly patient performance in the face of Bourdin’s constant and maddening interruptions. Similar comments can be found at the dozens of videos of Zemmour’s recent appearances – both interviews and debates – on French television.