Descendents of French monarch King Louis XIV have voiced their support for presidential candidate Eric Zemmour, a fact the populist firebrand is reportedly ‘very proud’ of.

French presidential hopeful Eric Zemmour has said that he is ‘very proud’ to gain the support of Princes Charles-Emmanuel and Amaury de Bourbon-Parme, both descendants of King Louis XIV, also known as Louis the Great.

Described by contemporary philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz as “one of the greatest kings that ever was”, the so-called “Sun King” achieved acclaim in both war and diplomacy during his reign, with France emerging as the preeminent European power under his rule.

Now, according to a report by French broadcaster BFMTV, populist firebrand Eric Zemmour can count on the support of those who inherit this king’s legacy, likely to the chagrin of more hardcore French Republicans.

According to one of the princes, Zemmour gained their attention when speaking of France as a whole, and not just the republic, with the populist having previously ended his declaration of candidacy with the words “long live the Republic, and above all, long live France”.

“Monsieur Zemmour speaks to us of ‘France’, and not of ‘the Republic’,” proclaimed Prince Charles-Emmanuel de Bourbon-Parme, praising the right-winger.

Meanwhile, Prince Amaury described discussing the possibility of him running as a candidate in Normandy with the presidential candidate, saying he would be “delighted” to participate in such a race.

While France now exists as a Republic, a strong monarchist presence nevertheless remains in the country, with organisations like the Catholic group Action Française campaigning to this day for the restoration of the French crown.

Although Zemmour was clear that he was very much pleased by the endorsements, he has previously stressed that he is a Republican, though with the caveat that the French Republic remains “the heir to France and a thousand-year-old tradition”.

While it is unclear as to why exactly Zemmour wanted to clarify his position on the matter, one could assume that the populist firebrand does not want to end up like another one of the Sun King’s descendants, King Louis XVI.

While Louis the Great was a well-respected monarch bringing power and prosperity to France, Louis XVI was thought of far more poorly, losing his position as de facto head of state in 1792, before losing his own head in early 1793.

“There is an obvious continuity between the monarchy, the Empire and the Republic. It is the forty kings who made France, Napoleon who organized it, and the Republic which is part of this heritage”, noted the candidate, who likely desires to have a more successful time as French head of state should he obtain the presidency.

While Zemmour might be proud about obtaining endorsements from two princes, his lack of endorsements from French elected officials remains a significant cause for concern for the anti-mass immigration candidate.

The Reconquête party leader currently has 291 official signatures, with the candidate needing at least 500 by March 4th to get on the ballot paper.

Zemmour is not the only candidate struggling to meet the quota, with both Marine Le Pen and Jean-Luc Mélenchon also currently falling significantly short of the required figure despite their significant popularity with the general public.

In a particular act of desperation, Le Pen has even gone so far as to suspend her presidential campaign to focus solely on obtaining the necessary signatures to compete against the likes of current president Emmanuel Macron in April.

“I appeal to the mayors: if you do not help me, millions of voters will be deprived of an election,” Le Pen asked online in a bid to scrape together more endorsements. “Don’t let a major democratic scandal happen.”