French President Emmanuel Macron was slapped in the face, leading police to arrest two men, a spokesman for the National Gendarmerie told NBC News on Tuesday.
A widely circulated video clip shows a masked man shouting “Down with Macronia” in French before swinging at the president’s face with his open palm.
The two suspects were arrested after the incident, which occurred during Macron’s visit to a school in southeast France, NBC reported.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex later Tuesday condemned political violence and aggression as undemocratic.
“I call for a renewal of the republic,” Castex tweeted in French.
The trip to the Tain-Hermitage school, which specializes in the restaurant industry, came on the eve of the French government lifting restrictions on indoor dining and other measures implemented during the coronavirus pandemic.
Macron was scheduled to meet with restaurant industry representatives, NBC reported.
Video of the incident shows Macron, wearing a black mask, approaching a crowd of people standing on the other side of a partition. Macron appears to pat the forearm of the closest person in the crowd, a man clad in a green T-shirt and a white mask.
As Marcon appears to start inching down the line of onlookers, the man moves to slap the president in the face, the video shows. Just before the slap, the man shouts “Montjoie Saint Denis,” the battle-cry of the former French monarchy, as well as “A Bas La Macronie,” which roughly translates to “Down with Macron’s kingdom.”
Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/08/french-president-emmanuel-macron-slapped-in-face-two-people-arrested.html