Eric Zemmour, Lawyer Wife and Three Children
Photographed with Assistant 35 Years Younger
A photo titled "Zemmour and His Very Close Female Aide" was released. / Photo by Paris Match cover capture
[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] French presidential candidate Eric Zemmour (63) has sparked controversy after being photographed on a date at the beach with his aide Sarah Knafo (28). Zemmour is married to a lawyer and has three children, while Knafo is unmarried.
The weekly magazine Paris Match featured a cover photo on the 22nd (local time) showing presidential candidate Zemmour shirtless, with his left arm draped over the shoulder of his aide Sarah Knafo. The photo, titled "Zemmour and his very close female aide," was taken on the 18th at a beach in southern France. The publication suggested that "the two do not appear to have a purely professional relationship."
After the photo was released, Zemmour posted on his Twitter, calling it an "invasion of privacy" and stating, "Paris Match, the lapdog of power, is trying to harm me. I will not be intimidated," signaling his intention to sue the media outlet. However, he did not clarify his relationship with Knafo.
In response, Paris Match editor Bruno Jeudy appeared on the news channel BFM and said, "We just did our job," arguing that they covered the story because Zemmour is a key figure in the presidential race.
Previously, Zemmour gained attention in the right-wing camp after publishing the bestseller "The Suicide of France" in 2014. He later became a popular commentator for the daily newspaper Le Figaro and a host of current affairs programs on television.
Although he has never engaged in political activities nor officially declared his candidacy, he currently holds an 11% approval rating in French presidential polls.
French media predict that this photo will impact the presidential race dynamics, noting not only the 35-year age gap between the two but also the fact that Zemmour is married with three children.
Meanwhile, Sarah Knafo, the aide involved in the scandal with Zemmour, is a French-Israeli born into a Jewish family. She graduated from Sciences Po Paris and the National School of Administration (ENA) in 2019, an institution that trains political and administrative elites. Upon graduation, she was appointed as a judicial auditor at the Court of Auditors and recently resigned to join Zemmour's presidential campaign team.
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