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DOSSIER – In this March 1, 2017, the centrist presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron, in the center, surrounded by his bodyguard, Alexandre Benalla, on the left, visits the Agricultural Fair in Paris, Wednesday, March 1, 2017. Benalla, President Emmanuel Macron's assistant in charge of security, was seen in a video wearing a police helmet and beating a student protester in May, dominating the criticism on Macron especially because of the slight penalty – a suspension of two weeks. (Christophe Ena, File / Associated Press)
PARIS – A video showing one of the security chiefs of French President Emmanuel Macron beating a student protester in May, hiding here in secret, provokes a strong public reaction on which is seen as a mild punishment – a suspension of two weeks and a change in responsibilities.
The growing tumult forced Macron's spokesman to tackle the problem Thursday, more than two and a half months after the event. Condemning the "unacceptable behavior," Roger Roger-Petit said that Alexander Benalla had also been removed from his responsibilities of organizing security for presidential trips – though he keeps his office at home. # 39; Elysee.
Authorities have launched a preliminary investigation According to Roger-Petit, the punishment inflicted on Benalla was "the most serious" ever given to a director of security. at the presidential palace of the Elysee and served as "last warning before dismissal".
The video of the May 1 event in Paris, revealed by the Le Monde newspaper on Wednesday night, shows Benalla in a helmet with police marks, and surrounded by riot police, brutally dragging a woman during a demonstration and repeatedly striking a young man on the floor. The man is heard begging him to stop. The police, who had taken the man out of the crowd before Benalla took over, did not intervene. Benalla then leaves the scene
Politicians of the opposition express a shock, some denouncing a climate of impunity at the top of the French political hierarchy and asking Macron to address the issue personally.
The head of the main Republican conservative party, Laurent Wauquiez, asked the radio Europe 1 if the government was trying to "silence the case".
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