Prez Macron slapped in face during his visit to small town

Ta in-l’ Hermitage (France), June 8: A bystander slapped French President Emmanuel Macron across the face during a trip to southeast France on Tuesday on the second stop of a nationwide tour.

Images on social media and broadcast on the BFM news channel showed Mr Macron approach a barrier to greet a man who, instead of shaking hands, slapped the 43year-old across the face.

Mr Macron’s bodyguards quickly intervened and two people were arrested afterwards, local officials said.

“The man who tried to slap the President and another individual are currently being questioned by the gendarmerie,” the regional prefecture said in a statement.

The man could be heard shouting out “Down with Macronia (A Bas La Macronie)” and then he delivered a slap to Mr Macron’s face.

Paris, June 8: French President Emmanuel Macron was slapped Tuesday in the face by a man during a visit to a small town in southeast France. Macron’s office confirmed a video that is widely circulating online. The French president can be seen greeting the public waiting for him behind traffic barriers in the small town of Tain-l’Hermitage after he visited a high school that is training students to work in hotels and restaurants.

The video shows a man slapping Macron in the face and his bodyguards pushing the man away as the French leader is quickly rushed from the scene. French news broadcaster BFM TV said two people have been detained by police in the assault. Macron has not commented yet on the incident and continued his visit.

Speaking at the National Assembly, Prime Minister Jean Castex said “through the head of state, that’s democracy that has been targeted,” in comments prompting loud applauds from lawmakers from all ranks, standing up in a show of support. “Democracy is about debate, dialogue, confrontation of ideas, expression of legitimate disagreements, of course, but in no case it can be violence, verbal assault and even less physical assault,” Castex said.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen firmly condemned on Twitter “the intolerable physical aggression targeting the president of the Republic.” Visibly fuming, she said later that while Macron is her top political adversary, the assault was “deeply, deeply reprehensible.” Less than one year before France's next presidential election, Macron last week started a political “tour de France”.