Far-right French presidential candidate says Trump told him to ‘stay true to myself’

Far-right French presidential candidate Éric Zemmour said on Tuesday that former President Trump encouraged him to “stay true” to himself during a phone call this week.

“He told me to remain who I am, that the media would call me brutal but that what mattered was to stay true to myself,” Zemmour told reporters, according to Reuters.

“We share the same ideas, namely that the United States should remain the United States and France should remain France,” he added.

Aides reportedly said that Zemmour spoke with Trump for nearly 40 minutes Monday night, adding that the call centered on security, immigration and the U.S. and French economies.

Zemmour, who has blamed loose immigration policies and an increase in Islamic influence for what he describes as a downfall in French society, added that he told Trump that both the U.S. and France have faced what he called a “battle of civilization,” Reuters reported.

According to the news service, Zemmour has been running a campaign based on divisiveness and, similarly to Trump, has embraced the role of a political outsider while leaning on his status as a celebrity and using rigid language.

Zemmour also has been convicted for provoking racial hate, Reuters noted.

He is running against conservative challenger Valerie Pecresse and the leader of France’s traditional far-right Rassemblement National Party, Marine Le Pen. French President Emmanuel Macron, who has not yet officially declared his candidacy, is reportedly leading the polls.