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Paris (AFP) – A dismissed security aide of French President Emmanuel Macron was facing Sunday a judge for his alleged assault of a protester, a scandal that forced the government to suspend parliamentary procedures.
declined to respond to potential charges against 26-year-old Alexandre Benalla, who was fired Friday after a video was released showing a young man at a May Day protest in Paris
Benalla is seen wearing a police helmet and a visor while Benalla is not a policeman and the Macron office said that he was only supposed to accompany the police as an observer.
An investigating judge opened an investigation Sunday before hearing Benalla and his associate Vincent Crase. , an employee of the ruling Macron Republic Party (LREM) who also participated in the protest.
Three police officers suspected of providing video surveillance videos to Benalla The week that he may try to erase his name will also be questioned Sunday.
The man hit by Benalla, with a young woman that Benalla violently fought on the ground during the clashes with the police – seen on a second video of
– A deafening silence –
Commissions d & rsquo; Investigation were created both in the National Assembly and in the Senate, some lawmakers accusing the government of trying to cover a scandal that should have been reported immediately to prosecutors.
Since last Thursday, they effectively blocked the government's efforts to debate a constitutional reform project promised by Macron during his election campaign
. However, Macron's office said last week that he had been suspended without pay for two weeks in early May and transferred security affairs to an administration.
Yet, Benalla has continued to be seen in Macron's security details ever since.
"If Macron does not explain, the Benalla affair will become the Macron affair," writes Marine Le Pen on Twitter
Laurent Wauquiez, the leader of the right-wing Republican party, accuses the government of "trying to camouflage a state issue".
But a spokesman for LREM, Gabriel Attal, said that if Macron addressed the issue now, "The French daily Le Parisien reports that Macron organized Saturday a crisis meeting with his key advisers, including the Minister of Finance. Interior Gerard Collomb and Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet
Collomb will appear before MPs Monday morning, after the media had hinted that he was aware of Benalla's aggression but that He remained calm
– "Defenseless Macron" –
Benalla was placed in custody on Friday after his dismissal, and faces charges of violence by a public official, usurping the police. identity of a police officer and complicity in the unauthorized use of surveillance images.
A source close to the investigation said that Macron's chief of staff
& L Case is particularly embarrassing for Macron since he won the presidency with promises to restore transparency and integrity to the highest position of the nation.
Adding to the controversy, Le Monde reported Friday that despite his suspension Benalla He was cleared this month to move into a lavish mansion along the Seine reserved for workers at the Elysee.
It was also equipped with a car and a driver, reports the newspaper. on the first page Sunday on a photo of the president and Benalla.
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