Senators grill Macron aide accused of demo assault

Senators on Wednesday grilled President Emmanuel Macron’s disgraced former security aide Alexandre Benalla over an assault that tarnished Emmanuel Macron’s reputation.

Alexandre Benalla made headlines in July after Le Monde newspaper revealed him as the man in a police helmet and armband filmed roughing up demonstrators at a May Day rally in Paris.

The 27-year-old, who was a security official in the presidency, said he was attending the demonstration as an observer and stepped in to help police bring protests under control.

The footage of him hitting a young man and forcibly removing a young woman from the demonstration caused widespread shock, which was compounded when it was revealed that Macron had known about the incident and did not report Benalla to the authorities.

Macron, who campaigned on a pledge to clean up French politics, dismissed the scandal as a “storm in a teacup.”

While his government survived two no-confidence votes, the affair was nonetheless seen as a blight on the record of the centrist and led to calls for greater checks on his powers.

Benalla, an ex-bouncer who has been charged with assault and impersonating a police officer, was head of Macron’s security team during the 2017 campaign and followed him to the Elysee Palace after his win.

After the campaign he was seen flanking Macron during public outings, but on Wednesday he denied that he had ever acted as his bodyguard – a job reserved for elite members of the gendarmerie which comes under the interior ministry.