French president overhauls office after beating row
Emmanuel Macron ordered an overhaul of his office as calls grow for the French president to break his silence about a close aide who was caught on camera hitting a protester at a May 1 rally in Paris.
Interior Minister Gerard Collomb will appear before a parliamentary committee on Monday and the head of the Paris police will answer questions later. That concession came after opposition parties blocked all debate on a constitutional reform bill in the National Assembly, saying they wanted a member of the government to come and speak.
Five days after the scandal became public, Macron allies took to the airways to defend the head of state. Christophe Castaner, head of Macron’s Republic on the Go political vehicle, denied that there had been any cover-up and said that Macron had ordered a re-shuffle of his staff and sanctions to be taken.
“The president will speak when he will have the full picture,” Castaner said. “The image is very bad, I am no way trying to minimize it. French people have been shocked,” he said, adding that the Elysee palace will amend the “weakness” in its organization. The aide, Alexandre Benalla, was charged Sunday for violence and exceeding his authority. Prosecutors allowed him to return home after he’d been taken into custody for questioning Friday morning.
Macron’s silence and initial
PARIS: MEMBERS OF ALL THE MAJOR PARTIES CALLED FOR MACRON TO SPEAK OPENLY ABOUT THE ISSUE AND EXPLAIN WHY IT WASN’T MADE PUBLIC BACK IN MAY
reticence to fire Benalla, who organized security for the 2017 election campaign and did similar work at the Elysee, has been seized upon by opponents to paint him as out of touch and regal, attributes that may be tied to sliding approval ratings. It’s also underscored contradictions in Macron’s communication style, as a week ago he was singing and dancing in the dressing room of France’s victorious World Cup soccer team and has now retreated from public view.
“It’s the Elysee that must bring the answers,” said Marine Le Pen, who ran against Macron.