French far-right pundit Eric Zemmour asks woman to remove her hijab on TV

A shocking video featuring French far-right pundit Eric Zemmour surfaced today on social media, sparking controversy.

The video was filmed this morning during a visit to the city of Drancy, located in the suburbs of Paris. It shows Zemmour interacting with a veiled woman resident of Drancy and requesting that she remove her hijab in order to demonstrate "that she is free".

📺 25.10.2021 - Le futur candidat @ZemmourEric face une dame portant le foulard

- EZ : « vous n’êtes pas libre madame »

- Elle enlève son foulard et lui prouve qu’elle est libre de choisir pic.twitter.com/oow93jaBRd

— Prisca THEVENOT (@priscathevenot) October 25, 2021

The woman in turn asked Zemmour to remove his tie, arguing that her hijab is a similarly personal clothing choice. She then proceeded to remove her hijab on camera, asking Zemmour: "I am going to remove it, does it mean you will start respecting me?"

"Hijab is not what makes religion," she added, "just as wearing a tie does not make you smarter".

The video was broadcasted on French news channel CNews, which has long thrived on Eric Zemmour's controversial personality, hosting him as a commentator on popular shows and turning him into one of French TV's most central characters.

Zemmour is not yet a declared candidate in the French election, but some polls credit him with 16 percent of voting intentions, making him the second most popular candidate after President Emmanuel Macron and just ahead of far-right leader Marine Le Pen.