The editor of Paris Match magazine has been sacked over a cover showing far-right presidential contender Éric Zemmour in a clinch with his assistant.
Hervé Gattegno was fired a month after displaying photographs of Zemmour, 63, in a compromising position with his 28-year-old assistant Sarah Knafo in the Mediterranean Sea off the French Riviera, on the front cover of the weekly magazine.
Zemmour was angered by the Paris Match scoop according to The Times, announcing that he was taking legal action for a breach of his privacy.
The cover did little to stop Zemmour - who is married with three children - from surging in the French polls off the back of his attacks on immigration and Islam.
Pictured: French far-right media pundit Eric Zemmour (left) and his advisor Sarah Knafo pose during a photo session in Paris on April 22, 2021. The pair were photographed in a clinch, with the photograph being put on the front cover of Paris Match magazine
Zemmour was angered by the Paris Match scoop according announcing that he was taking legal action for a breach of his privacy.
The 'French Donald Trump', as some have called him, is yet to announce that he will be standing for the presidency next year.
Even so, election polls show he sits neck-and-neck with far-right rival Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally, with around 16 percent of the vote.
Whoever emerges victorious from their contest is expected to go on to face President Macron next year.
According to journalists working at Paris Match, the cover annoyed Vincent Bolloré, the main shareholder in Lagardère, the conglomerate that owns the weekly.
The 69-year-old billionaire import-export tycoon from Brittany, who acquired the media empire, is reportedly well acquainted with Zemmour, having employed him as a pundit on CNews.
Under Bolloré's leadership, the rolling news channel has veered to the right, with Zemmour being the star attraction with his far-right views including an anti-Islam stance and warnings that increasing immigration would see religious conflicts and vicil war in France.
The pundit left last month to prepare for his expected run at the presidency.
Pictured: Now-former Paris Match editor Herve Gattegno seen arriving the trial of the so-called Bettencourt affair, on November 3, 2015 at the Bordeaux's courthouse. Gattegno has now been fired
