Corpse beautician and fan of the Middle Ages: the flamboyant profile of Damien Tarel, the young man who slapped Emmanuel Macron

See you on Tuesday, Damien Tarel was a complete stranger to most French people the day gave him a slap to President Emmanuel Macron to the monarchist and medieval cry of “Montjoie Saint Denis” and “at the bottom of Macronie” during a visit by the president to a town in the south of France. The young man was immediately arrested and the video of the assault went viral.

In his town of Saint-VilliersWith 4000 inhabitants, the surprise is total. Neighbors and relatives described him as a very calm person, a fanatic “nerd” of the Middle Ages, video games, role-playing games and manga (Japanese comics).

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Tarel is the son of a dance teacher “who had a difficult life after the death of her husband, a craftsman” two years ago, neighbors told the magazine. The Obs. Although it follows a embalming training (preparing corpses for the vigil), is unemployed and lives with his girlfriend thanks to a 500 euro purse monthly from the State, and an invalidity pension of 900 euros which she receives.

Damien Tarel is above all passionate about medieval history and founded an association of “European historical martial arts”, the aim of which is “to teach the different techniques of historical combat, from Antiquity to the 20th century”, with a predilection for medieval combat.

On his Instagram account, there are photos in which he appears dressed like a gentleman with armor or sitting on a bundle with a sword by his side. “I am the instrument of my own will,” he writes alongside another image in which he practices kendo, Japanese fencing.

Tarel does not follow any political party, but he follows several pages related to the monarchist movement and the far right, like those of the French Action, the cartoonist Mr Kitsuné, the nationalist rapper Kroc Blanc or that of Henry de Lesquen, sentenced in 2018 for incitement to hatred and denial of crimes against humanity.

In his first statements in court, the young man declared himself close to the “movement of yellow vests”, which manifested itself for long months, and sometimes with violence, against the policies of the Macron government, until shortly before the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The man said he was linked to the “right or far right” ideology, although “without belonging to any party”, and claimed to have acted “Without thinking, to express their dissatisfaction”explained prosecutor Alex Perrin.

Tarel appears with two friends in a video recorded by the French program Daily moments before the assault. In the recording, a friend of his claims to have “things to say” to the Head of State about the “Decline of France”, provoked, in his own words, by a president who says of his people that “they have no culture”. Tarel stands idly by and refuses to speak to the media. Then, we see him pass in front of the gendarmes and approach the barrier to greet – and hit – Macron.

The president’s assailant appeared on a TV show shortly before the slap in the face.

Four months in prison

In class Express, Tarel was sentenced this Thursday to four months of effective prison, 14 months of waiting, for “violence against a person holding public authority”.

The court also ordered Tarel – who had no criminal record – undergo psychological treatment, perform community service or follow a two-year training course, and he was banned from voting for three years and from carrying arms for five years.

During the hearing, in front of the accused, the prosecutor Alex Perrin had indicated that this slap, which he described as “absolutely inadmissible”, was an “act of deliberate violence”. Perrin said he was concerned about a possible risk of recurrence, assuring that he perceived “a kind of cold determination“In humans.

At trial, Tarel said that considers himself “a patriot” and what it was doing “Invested” by the “yellow vests“And“ the French in general ”. He also assured that his cry of “Montjoie Saint Denis”, which he launched before the slap, “refers to the story battle cry of the french knights”.

“The cavalry is a means. I doubt Macron would have answered if he had challenged him to a dawn sword duel, “he told the judges.

The young man also claimed that the president “represents the decadence of the country” and that he was upset to want to shake his hand to campaign. “When I saw his kind, lying look that he wanted to become a voter, I was disgusted,” Tarel said.

Although he described the slap as “impulsive” and “regrettable,” Tarel also admitted that with his friends, they planned to “do something” like “throw an egg at him.”

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Tarel also stated that he had dissortography -a disorder in the ability to write which manifests itself in difficulty in correctly transcribing words and following spelling rules and that he has been diagnosed with “strong intellectual potential”. He also said he was very affected by the death of his father two years ago.

What Macron said after the attack

The slap provoked the indignation of the entire French political class. However, Macron tried to put the incident into perspective. From the first moment he spoke of an “attempted slap” and considered it to be a “Isolated act” committed by “ultraviolent individuals”.

This Thursday, in an interview with BFMTV, Macron further downplayed the episode and felt that the country “I was not energized as during the yellow vests crisis ”. “Let’s not make this stupid and violent act say more than it needs to be done to say.” “You have to put things into perspective and not trivialize anything”, but “it does not matter to receive a slap when you go to meet a crowd,” he added.

The president indicated that he preferred to insist on the climate of “optimism” which he feels in France with the gradual lifting of restrictions due to the pandemic.

“What I feel in the country is optimism, it is a desire to resume life, it is dynamism” and “a lot of people want to work at full capacity” at a time when the health crisis is easing, said the French president.

“Violence is what women who die under the beatings of their partner suffer, it is real violence,” said Macron, whose government is often criticized by feminist groups for its lack of response to violence. feminicides in France.

A 200% increase in political violence in 2020

However, some political scientists in France consider that there is a rising violence against politicians in the country. And the statistics prove them right.

In 2020, attacks and threats against elected officials increased by 200% compared to 2019: 1,276 assaults, insults and threats were recorded during the year, according to Info France, in the heat of the municipal elections, the movement of yellow vests and the pandemic.

The Association of Mayors of France (AMF) recalls that the phenomenon has been on the increase for several years. More than 500 mayors or deputies and 60 parliamentarians were physically attacked in 2020, they stressed. In addition, they point out that when previously attacks targeted public buildings, they are now “personalized” and direct. Some 68 homes of elected officials and 63 private vehicles were the target of popular anger.

This phenomenon worries the Ministry of the Interior and has led it to create a training program for mayors. elite unit negotiators of the gendarmerie to teach them how to calm tense situations.

Political unpopularity and disenchantment

Experts attribute the rise in violence to the unpopularity of politicians in general and to a disenchantment with democracy, which is also reflected in a rise in political extremes.

According to a survey by the Center for Political Studies of the prestigious Sciences-Po Paris school in February 2021, when the French were asked what they were inspired by politics, the first answers were “Mistrust” (39%) and “disgust” (23%). Only 20% of those surveyed responded with positive words such as “interest”, “hope”, “respect” or “enthusiasm”.

80% also considered that politicians ‘don’t care’ what people think and what 65% who are “rather corrupt”.

“Politics is one of the most hated professions speak French. This hatred inevitably leads to action, especially since we are in a difficult period where we are looking for the culprits», Analyzed Daniel Boy, director of research at Sciences-Po and specialist in French political life, in an interview with local media. Unemployment and the consequences of the pandemic are many other factors that add tensions and anxieties in society.

The researcher believes that mayors are the politicians who receive the most attacks because “they are seen as directly responsible for the actions they take and, therefore, they are more exposed”.

Generally speaking, political science doctor Benjamin Morel attributes the increase in violence against politicians to a “Desacralization of the function and a weakening of political institutions ”. “This phenomenon happens in a pretty cyclical fashion, like in the 1930s, and now we’re back in the middle of it,” he explained.