He said France should remain in the EU, the world’s largest trade bloc. But echoing arguments used by the ‘Leave’ campaign in Britain’s 2016 Brexit campaign, he denounced the destructive interference of a disconnected Brussels elite in the daily lives of European citizens.

Mr Macron’s wish for a more sovereign, strategically autonomous Europe was fantasy, Mr Zemmour said.

“Macron’s Europe is a fictitious Europe,” Mr Zemmour continued. “Contrary to what he thinks, Europe is not a nation.”

The writer and talkshow star has said France needs saving from a spiral of decline that has seen its identity eroded, in part due to what he sees as an increasing tendency for Muslim migrants to turn their backs on France’s secular values.

He is polling fourth in the election race, behind Mr Macron, Marine Le Pen, of the traditional far-right and conservative challenger Valerie Pecresse. However, analysts say it is too early to rule him out of a place in April’s run-off vote.

Mr Zemmour, who was convicted again this week for inciting hate, said migrants had brought violence, crime and misery to Calais, a favoured launchpad for clandestine crossings of the English Channel.

Calais had always been an outpost in France’s defences against invaders, centuries ago against the British and Spanish and nowadays against Afghan, Pakistani and African migrants, he continued.

“Our commitment is that France will never come to resemble the abandoned Calais of today,” Mr Zemmour said.