For those who wonder, I did try when writing this piece for The National to contact Eric Zemmour, the broadcaster and essayist who may or may not run for the French presidency but has dominated pre-capaigning his electrifying presence.
His people vaguely held out the hope a 10-minute telephone interview but nothing came of it despite repeated reminders. A set of questions was simply ignored. Entirely his right, of course. But just so that you know why he was not able to answer some of the points made. As ever, I thank my editor at The National for consenting to the reproduction of my work here ...
A town that would rather forget its place in history has been thrust back into the spotlight as the far right poses a growing threat to Emmanuel Macron, five months ahead of French presidential elections.
Civic leaders in Vichy, the elegant spa resort chosen as the seat of Marshal Philippe Petain’s collaborationist war-time government, have traditionally sought to avoid embarrassing reminders.
Seventy-seven years after France’s liberation from Nazi occupation, the town still has no museum dedicated to the Petain years.
As part of its unwanted legacy, “Vichyiste” is widely seen as a pejorative term in France – except on the far right.
But with Mr Macron facing not one but possibly two radically right-wing, populist contenders for the Elysee, attention again focuses more on Vichy’s past than its recent designation as a Unesco World Heritage site.
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