French right-wing TV host fans talk of presidential bid / Photo: ALAIN JOCARD - AFP/File
French right-wing TV host fans talk of presidential bid
Provocative French radio and television host Cyril Hanouna has the country guessing Tuesday over whether he will run to be president in 2027.
A star of France's right-wing media and close to the billionaire media mogul Vincent Bollore, Hanouna teased listeners to his Europe 1 radio show that he would tell the "truth" about his intentions on Tuesday or Wednesday.
His comment came after the hard right weekly Valeurs Actuelles stunned France earlier this week by printing what it said were parts of his manifesto.
"There is a front page going around," Hanouna, 50, told his listeners Monday. "And it's setting fire to everything."
Valuers Actuelles described the manifesto as "revolutionary, disruptive and iconoclastic".
It reportedly includes a "French Guantanamo" similar to the US military base in Cuba known for holding suspected Islamist militants that President Donald Trump's administration is now using to detain undocumented migrants.
Hanouna also wants a minimum monthly salary of 2,200 to 2,300 euros ($2,617) and to replace all ministries with one super ministry in an efficiency drive.
The star told listeners that the article the magazine printed was "not an interview" and it shouldn't be taken as an announcement of his candidacy.
While Europe 1 drew parallels between Hanouna and how President Volodymyr Zelensky, a former comic actor, suddenly burst onto Ukraine's political scene, others have compared him to the Italian comedian-turned-politician Giuseppe Piero "Beppe" Grillo, founder of the Five Star Movement.
The presenter would not take a salary as president, according to the magazine, and would moderate major democratic debates to decide policy.
Hanouna also plans to build a padel court in the gardens of the Elysee Palace, the weekly said. The radio host is apparently obsessed with the fast-growing racket sport.
A multi-millionaire, Hanouna was reported last month to be dating President Emmanuel Macron's 41-year-old step-daughter Tiphaine -- despite being an outspoken critic of the French leader.
France's 2027 presidential election remains a wide open race, with Macron unable to stand for a third time and far-right leader Marine Le Pen potentially unable to stand due to her conviction in a fake jobs trial.
Jordan Bardella, the 29-year-old leader of Le Pen's party who would stand if she was barred, said Tuesday he "does not believe" Hanouna will be a candidate while saying he had "lots of respect" for his work.
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M.Jacobucci--PV
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