What we do not know yet (and what we already know)



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POLITICS – In one form or another, all the protagonists of the case have now spoken. Eight days after Le Monde revealed that Alexander Benalla, then adviser to Emmanuel Macron, had hit at least one militant during the Paris demonstration on May 1, the main concerned broke the silence in a Interview given to everyday life

The reality of the events that have taken place since then is beginning to clear up, even if contradictions remain. The judicial inquiry launched Thursday, July 18 will determine whether criminal penalties are to be considered. The inquiry committees of the Assembly (which exploded in flight on Thursday) and the Senate will determine for their part if there are political failures and, if necessary (in one month in the Assembly, six in the Senate (19659003) What were Alexandre Benalla's missions at the Élysée?

In Le Monde Alexandre Benalla delivered his vision of the position he held at Emmanuel Macron. This consisted of "dealing with the private affairs of the President of the Republic". "All the delicate missions are for me," says the chargé de mission, who held the position of badistant to the chief of staff. He was responsible for coordinating "services that contribute to the official travel of the President of the Republic," said the chief of staff of the head of state.

Questioned in the Senate, a representative of a police union estimated that "the confusion of the roles, the missions, the ambiguity of the functions of Mr. Benalla, pose problems on the legibility of the instructions which he could give to our colleagues".

The big question whose answer is still unclear is to what extent he was concerned with the security of the Head of State and whether he was the only "civilian" to be badociated with it. "It is provided by police and gendarmes, by them and by them alone," say for several days all the protagonists Elyos. Only the license-carrying permit of Alexandre Benalla was justified during his authorization, in particular by his "police mission". The fact that he regularly participates in meetings to prepare for the reorganization of the president's security gives credence to the idea that he played a role in security.

Who authorized Alexandre Benalla to be an observer on May 1? [19659004] From July 19, the spokesman of the Elysee Bruno Roger-Petit said that Alexander Benalla was authorized by the Paris Police Prefecture to follow the police. But the various hearings and the interview of the interested party showed that he was not invited by the prefecture but a senior officer of the prefecture, Laurent Simonin, who did not refer to his hierarchy. The same policeman is now indicted for providing video surveillance images to Alexandre Benalla after the publication of World .

Alexandre Benalla says he received a bag two days before May 1 containing all the equipment he had during the demonstration: "a helmet, a leather belt, a gas mask, a police armband and a blue coat marked police and a captain's rank on it." He says he then received "rangers and a radio" without anyone knowing at this stage who provided it.

Why was justice prevented so late?

It was not until on Thursday, 19 July, for the Paris public prosecutor's office to decide to open a preliminary inquiry and to open a criminal investigation; which led to the indictment of Alexandre Benalla. The prefect of police (the secretary general of the Elysee also claimed to have done) has seized the prosecutor on the basis of Article 40 of the Code of Criminal Procedure after learning that a copy of the images of CCTV cameras recorded on 1 May had been sent to Alexandre Benalla. This copy followed the publication of the article of World .

Before this one, no authority had thought fit to seize justice for the acts committed by Alexandre Benalla on May 1 . During the first hearings, Interior Minister Gérard Collomb and the police chief returned the ball to the Elysee, employer of Alexander Benalla. The chief of staff of the President of the Republic and the Secretary General of the Elysee then said that there was, according to them, nothing that justified such a referral. Clearly that the events place de la Contrescarpe did not constitute a crime. It is this lack of initial judicial reaction that continues to outrage the opposition, which accuses the presidency of covering the actions.

Alexandre Benalla did he receive a penalty?

Emmanuel Macron himself considered the sanction issued on 3 May by the head of the cabinet of the presidency "proportionate" after the head of state was informed. "This is the most serious against a representative at the Elysee," said the spokesman Bruno Roger-Petit before Patrick Strzoda said a few days later that to his knowledge is the first that has

This penalty is a layoff of fifteen days without pay and with a demotion. If Alexandre Benalla has obviously not worked until May 22 (the police officer who had said the opposite in front of the Assembly has retracted his remarks), it has however been well paid in full in May and month of June. The chief of staff admitted to the Senate that there was a legal impossibility to make a detention. "His 15 days of suspension will be subject to a deduction on the leave entitlements he had in surplus for the year 2017," added Patrick Strzoda before senators highlight a new legal fragility

The effectiveness of the sanction is also questioned by the missions that Alexander Benalla has continued to fulfill. If he says he is "humiliated" and that the tenors of the Elysee believe that "the sanction was lived as such", he continued missions exposed and not only during the events organized at the Elysee. He was seen on July 13 in Giverny with the couple Macron, during the tribute to Simone Veil, during the July 14 or the return of the French football team in Paris. A dismissal procedure was then initiated by the Élysée on July 20.

How is Alexandre Benalla seen by those who work with him?

Two types of comments were heard during the sworn hearings at the Assembly and the Senate. On the one hand, Alexandre Benalla's superiors all said that they had excellent feedback on the project manager. Emmanuel Macron himself applauded it, saluting in front of the majority's deputies his availability and his commitment

The opposite of the declarations of the police unions, who very much denounced the attitude of the President's advisor. According to Fabien Vanhemelryck, deputy general secretary of the union of peacekeepers, Alliance, relations between Alexander Benalla and police officers on the ground "were execrable". "He behaved like a cador, he has been seen on several operations, several debriefings and several presidential trips," said Secretary General of the Union of Internal Security Officers (SCSI), Jean-Marc Bailleul.

He himself explained to World that relations were far from perfect. With the GSPR, in charge of the security of the President, He evokes "friction, yes, but in the form of unsaid". "Of course, it arouses resentment," he adds. We understand that his presence as close to the Head of State did not only happy. It suggests that the origin of the case could be to seek on this side.

Alexander Benalla he enjoyed privileges?

The entourage of Emmanuel Macron and the head of the State himself claimed that there was no pbad for anyone. Only, many of the attributes of the function occupied by Alexandre Benalla raise question.

This is no longer the case of his salary, which some had estimated at 10.000 euros but that the person finally figured at 6.000 euros net per month , which corresponds to what can earn such a mission manager. Patrick Strzoda also denied the existence of a company car, speaking only of a service car; the chief of staff badumed that he benefited from arrangements, such as certain police vehicles, so that Alexander Benalla could take part in the presidential processions.

Beyond the badge of access to the National Assembly (for to go to the gym, according to the interested party), remains the apartment of function quai Branly attributed to the month of July, that is to say after its demotion. The Express badures that the Élysée had a project to develop a duplex of 200 m² renovated for 180,000 euros. The presidency has denied but confirmed the existence of this apartment of 80m ² whose mere existence continues to fuel speculation especially as the conditions of attribution remain unclear.

To see also on The HuffPost :

Read also:

• A week later, what remains of the statement of Bruno Roger-Petit on Benalla

• The commission of inquiry of the Assembly explodes in vol

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