French presidential challenges have been brought low by lesser misdemeanours than charges of inciting racial hatred. 

Yet, Eric Zemmour’s challenge for the Elysee has gained momentum regardless of his comments comparing young migrants to “thieves, killers and rapists”. 

Such has been the firebrand pundit’s success at galvanising the French political right that his position in the polls rose ahead of his Paris trial beginning on November 17. 

Zemmour has yet to formally declare his candidacy, which remains threatened with a one-year prison sentence and €45,000 (£38,000) fine if he is convicted. The 63-year-old denies the charges.

While France is gripped by the case, for Vincent Bollore, the billionaire industrialist who controls the media giant Vivendi, the novice politician has already delivered on his promise.

Zemmour rose to prominence on CNews, the rolling news channel that was overhauled by Bollore into a doppelganger of the right-wing American station, Fox News.

Pundits warring over the ills of immigration and the benefits of Frexit have helped CNews gain greater influence over the political tone ahead of the April election.

The broadcaster has seized enough audience share to become France’s second most popular 24-hour news channel.

Its success has caused comparisons between Bollore and Rupert Murdoch, the Australian mogul who used his media might to gain political influence across the UK, America and Australia. Yet, Bollore’s latest round of empire-building has also drawn comparisons with Napoleon.

This is no surprise attack, however. Bollore announced his ambitions in London in 2015 with the opening of a new corporate headquarters on Cavendish Square, off Oxford Street. On a hot summer’s day, chain-smoking French executives mixed with British advertising and music types as Jamie Cullum entertained them over vintage champagne and canapes.

Bollore has carved out a reputation as a corporate raider after steadily increasing his share in Vivendi to become the controlling investor with a 27pc stake in the business.

He first gained a minority stake in 2012 when he agreed to be paid in shares in exchange for offloading 60pc of his TV channel Direct 8 and Direct Star to Vivendi’s Canal+. 

At one stage, he spent €1.5bn on 19 separate transactions between February and April 2018 to increase his position to 24pc.   

After the success of distributing 60pc of Universal Music to its shareholders in a listing that valued it at €46bn (£39bn), Bollore’s Vivendi is on a mission to consolidate his media power.

Bollore, who is behind a controversial $260m payout for Universal Music boss Sir Lucian Grainge, holds an 18pc stake in the world’s biggest music group through Bollore Entities. 

With that position now worth €8bn, Bollore has amassed significant financial firepower.   

Meanwhile, Vivendi, which also owns the French broadcaster Canal+, film and TV production company Studio Canal and the advertising agency Havas, is now poised to launch a takeover of rival media group Lagardere after upping its stake to 45pc last month.

Viewing himself as an outsider of the French establishment, Bollore has enjoyed capitalising on the troubles facing his rivals. 

The French billionaire Arnaud Lagardere agreed in April to relinquish control of his family firm to shareholders following pressure from the hedge fund Amber Capital, much to Vivendi and Bollore’s benefit. 

If regulators approve the takeover, Vivendi would take charge of the owner of French publisher Hachette, the politically influential Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper and Paris Match magazine, where Emmanuel Macron appeared on the cover eight times in his 2017 bid for presidency. 

As he gears up to retire in February next year, Bollore appears hell bent on one last land grab to crystallise his legacy as one France’s most prolific and controversial dealmakers.

Yet, the conservative billionaire’s ability to amass more power is not without his sceptics. 

“When Rupert Murdoch stormed the UK press, he wanted to modernise the media industry,” says Francois Godard, of Enders Analysis.

“He wanted to break the trade unions because those trade unions were the roadblock on the road to modernisation of the UK press. 

“I don’t know what Bollore’s vision is: what is the plan and where are we going? If Zemmour was elected as president of the republic then he could thank Bollore for it. Zemmour is a very good entertainer and Bollore had the intelligence to give him airtime. 

“But the weight of CNews in French politics is nothing like the weight of the Sun in British politics at the time of Tony Blair. 

“The intelligence of Murdoch was that he aligned with Blair and it gave him leverage. The problem with CNews is that it gives Bollore leverage within the right, but outside of the right – and by that I mean the government and the left – he loses leverage, because he is stuck to the right wing.”