[ad_1]
The President of France, Emmanuel Macron could experience one of the worst political crises of his government since its inception in May 2017. All because of the so-called "Benalla affair" the investigation around Alexander Benalla one of the head of state's bodyguards who was registered in beating demonstrators and improperly using the powers of the police.
But the scandal has not only remained in the act of violence. The controversy sparked criticism against Macron and his Minister of the Interior, Gerard Collomb who were accused of attempting to conceal Benalla, and even questioned the power of the circle. intimate of the President and on the actions of the Galas security forces
The Videos
The Benalla affair was announced last week, after the newspaper The World unveiled a video in which You can see the presidential bodyguard push a woman by the neck and hit a protester who was already on the ground. The images were recorded as part of the May Day demonstrations and it is possible to see that Benalla is wearing a badge and is equipped with a police helmet.
After the controversy, the covers, the Executive launched a separation of labor proceedings and the prosecution opened an investigation against him and Vincent Crase, an employee of the ruling party "In Marcha", which also appears in the videos violate the protesters.
The two men were indicted on Sunday for the charge of "violence at a meeting", for illegal use of police badges and unauthorized access to public safety images . Three police officers were also accused of giving Benalla images of security cameras. However, the late hours revealed more details about who Benalla was, its benefits in the current administration and on the performance of the executive management when they heard what was done by the close adviser .
The French Watergate
Macron and Benalla know each other well. The 26-year-old man became the security chief of the president's political campaign in 2017, after working since his youth for the Socialist Party . Later, he was appointed advisor and "head of mission" in the palace of Elisha, when the representative of "In March" came to power.
In his publication, Le Monde badures that Macron's team and Interior Minister Gerard Collomb were aware of the incident shortly thereafter. However, none of them alerted the police. The French penal code establishes that any public official who knows a crime must inform the judge as soon as possible. According to the slogan Euronews the Paris prosecutor only became aware of the incident last week.
"Was there a maneuver to cover that?" The entourage of Macron is believed to be above the law " badures the president of the center-right party Les Républicains, Laurent Wauquiez " The Elysee must give an explanation ", said the leader of the far right, Marine Le Pen The leader of the radical left, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, considered that this case is "at the Watergate" And the communist deputy Sebastien Jumel affirmed that Benalla "was protected by the restricted circle of the president."
Faced with criticism, Collomb appeared Monday in front of the National Assembly, which opened a commission of He said that he knew the video, but that it was not his job to alert the justice. "This is not the case. to the minister to do so, "said Collomb, who noted that his services have reported the images to the police chief and the services of the presidency. same day. "It was up to them to apply sanctions and ultimately inform the judicial authorities," said the minister.
Indeed, the Macron team would have punished Benalla when they would have learned what had happened on May 1st. "mild" by the public opinion: suspension without pay for 15 days. This information has hardened criticisms against the executive. Even more, when it became apparent that Benalla was photographed working with the president last week, when the suspension regime was in effect. Another question that the executive should explain is what the chief of security was doing in the demonstrations on May 1; why he had police clothes he did not have permission to own them; and why the security forces at that time in the place did not react to his presence or prevented his actions.
Last Friday, the government announced that Benalla would be fired, but not for acts of violence, but for having used the identification of the police . Meanwhile, Collomb commissioned an internal investigation by the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN) on July 19, a day after publication of the controversial video.
Excessive Power and Paralyzing Reforms
Already with the controversy settled, revelations about the benefits that the chief of security had come to be the icing on the cake. According to the same French newspaper, Benalla had an official car, a driver and a department belonging to the Elysee at number 11 quai Branly, to which he moved on July 9. The sponsorships that he has retained even after the videos have been published.
Finally, the weekend reported that the counselor maintained a high level of accreditation to access the National Assembly as a presidential officer.
This news provoked outrage among parliamentarians and forced Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet to suspend debate on the key constitutional reform that is being addressed at the legislative level.
The scenario undermines the series of legal initiatives that the Macron administration wanted to put on the agenda soon. For now, the president has decided to remain silent, even though several members of his government have badured that he considered "totally outrageous" and "unacceptable" what his employee did. According to the Secretary of State for Relations with Parliament, Christophe Castaner, Macron wants to have a global vision and reorganize its administration before deciding.
[ad_2]
Source link
