8 questions for which we now have answers

There are certainly many gray areas. But facts are becoming clearer day by day in the Benalla affair. A week after the revelations of the "World" on the former collaborator of the Elysee, the numerous auditions of political or administrative personalities indeed make it possible to answer several questions. "L'Obs" takes stock

Who authorized Benalla to attend the demonstration of May 1st?

During his hearing by the members of the commission of the Laws of the National Assembly, transformed for On the occasion of the inquiry, Patrick Strzoda, Emmanuel Macron's chief of staff, explained that he had been informed by Alexandre Benalla that he "was invited by the police headquarters as an observer for the mission of the 1st -May".

"He told me that the invitation had been made by Mr. Simonin," added Patrick Strzoda.

Laurent Simonin is the director of public order and traffic. He is also one of three police officers who were indicted on Sunday for delivering videos to Alexandre Benalla.

Patrick Strzoda says he accepted "the principle because the observer missions have a very precise framework, and these people can not intervene in any case". The senior official also said he had deduced "that the hierarchy of the Prefecture of police was aware." But Michel Delpuech, l e Paris police chief, said Monday that he had "never" been asked for Alexander Benalla to accompany police officers as an "observer" on 1 May.

It states however:

"In itself, to welcome Alexandre Benalla is not a fault. […] If Mr. Simonin has committed a fault, it is not to welcome it, it is not to not accountable to his hierarchy.It is a failure to report.However, it is serious, but it is only a failure to report. "

Who decided to punish Alexandre Benalla? 19659003] Patrick Strzoda, the chief of staff of Emmanuel Macron, assumes the penalty imposed on Alexandre Benalla. "The sanction was taken by me," he said during his hearing by the Assembly's inquiry committee on Tuesday. While Eric Ciotti (LR) asked him if he had made this decision "in total autonomy" or with Emmanuel Macron, the high official answered:

"It is I who proposed 15 days, and it I took the decision to notify this penalty to Mr. Benalla The President of the Republic was 10,000 kilometers. "

The director of cabinet of the Elysee also maintained, in front of deputies, that there is had a "modification of the functions", "a demotion" even of Alexander Benalla after his return from suspension on May 19.

"He was discharged from the participation in the organization of the official trips of the President of the Republic."

However, many images show that Alexander Benalla was present at the pantheonization of Simone Veil on July 1 and at the reception of the Blues on July 16th. Alexandre Benalla was also there during the parade on July 14 and during a private trip of the presidential couple in Normandy on July 13.

Who Granted Benalla a Weapon Port?

Paris Police Commissioner Michel Delpuech "assumes" that he authorized Alexander Benalla to carry a weapon. On Monday, during his hearing by the Assembly's inquiry committee, the senior official explained that he authorized the port d ' weapon of the former collaborator d 'Emmanuel Macron after a request from the Elysee, "in the context of the security-related functions exercised by Mr. Benalla".

"There are two different legal regimes," said the prefect, one within the jurisdiction of the Minister of the Interior, when it comes to "meeting the needs of threatened personalities", and the port d 'weapons related to the functions.

"That, it is prefectural competencies It is on this plan that intervened the [19659017] d decision I made. "

During his hearing on Monday morning before the same commission, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb had asserted that his firm "had not been notified". He indicated that Alexander Benalla had "repeatedly requested the services of the Ministry of the Interior to obtain a permit from port d ' weapon the first time in 2013, in January 2017 – so with my meadow d – and finally in June 2017 with my cabinet ". Before adding:

"All these requests were refused because Mr. Benalla did not fulfill the conditions required, the exposure to exceptional risks d 'harm to his life, for himself see d elect such ministerial authorization. "

" However, by a decree of the police chief of 13 October 2017, Mr. Benalla was seen d to issue an authorization from port d ' weapon on another foundation of the code of internal security, without my cabinet I was d discovered last Wednesday, "assured the minister.

What position occupied Alexander Benalla at the Elysee?

Heard on Tuesday by the Inquiry Committee of the Assembly, Patrick Strzoda, Emmanuel Macron's Cabinet Director, specified the missions and functions of Alexandre Benalla at the Elysée. The latter was responsible for coordinating "services that contribute to the official travel of the President of the Republic", he said, adding that there was never any question that he took the "management of a service led to consolidate the security services of the Elysee".

"He had another function," Patrick Strzoda also said: "He was in charge of organizing the reception program for the people and personalities that the president invites for 14-July." [19659047] Patrick Strzoda: "The mission entrusted to Mr. Benalla (was) to ensure the coordination of all services that contribute to the travel of the Head of State."
The director of the Élysée said that it did not "direct" the services in question. #DirectAN #Benalla pic.twitter.com/BinjfXEYyd

– LCP (@LCP) 24 July 2018

Second mission of Alexander Benalla, according to Patrick Strzoda, "the organization of the program of reception of the personalities that the President invites for the parade of 14-July" and "a presence on the ground on the day of 14-July ". #DirectAN #Benalla pic.twitter.com/kntMpk32iM

– LCP (@LCP) July 24, 2018

On his business card, published in the media, Alexandre Benalla presented himself as "assistant to the chief of staff of the President of the Republic."

The business card of #AlexandreBenalla who presented himself as "assistant to the chief of staff" (but without having ever been appointed to the Official Journal) #Macron pic.twitter.com/ZMrpPq7Iq r

– eric mandonnet (@ericmandonnet) July 23, 2018

An appellation not to be confused with the post of deputy chief of the cabinet, occupied by Rodrigue Furcy. According to Patrick Strzoda, the deputy chief of staff – Alexandre Benalla – was under the authority of the chief of staff and deputy chief.

Who are the two people attacked?

Both people filmed being struck by Alexander Benalla during the demonstrations of 1-May, asked to be civil parties in the judicial investigation in course. These two young men had already asked to be heard by the investigators.

"My clients are not part of the black block movement nor were they protesters. [. ..] In no case did they come to fight with the police, "said Sahand Saber, the lawyer for the young woman and the young man.

" They do not want to be involved to the state affair but simply to be heard fairly quickly by the courts to be recognized as victims of police violence. "

According to Me Saber, this couple had come" to have a drink "on the place of the Contrescarpe where" an aperitif "was held at the call of the Inter-Olean Action Committee, close to the autonomous movement. But the tension was then raised between participants and police

"My clients were then faced with a load of the CRS they were hit, at that time they had an unthinking reaction What they recognize, they threw what they had on hand For my client, it was something like a carafe of water, she does not remember it anymore, "

Comments that contradict the version of Alexander Benalla . In a statement, the former collaborator Emmanuel Macron justified his actions by having wanted to help the police to "control of these people" he described as "two particularly virulent individuals."

What was the relationship between Benalla and the police?

The unions police, heard on Tuesday by the Senate Committee of Inquiry into the case [19659017] Benalla, denounced "the confusion of the roles, the ambiguity of the functions" of the former collaborator of the head of the State and describes the "execrable relations" that he could maintain with the

"He was very often on the security services, for debriefings, and the officers of the police headquarters knew him as an authority," said David Le Bars, secretary-general of the trade union. Commissioners of the National Police (NPCS).

"All t commissioner that you are: it is the adviser of the President of the Republic … "

" The confusion of roles, missions, the ambiguity of the functions of Mr. Benalla we pose serious problems, especially on the readability of the instructions he could give our colleagues, "was moved Olivier Boisteaux, president of the Independent Union of Police Commissioners (SICP) before senators.

According to Fabien Vanhemelryck, Deputy Secretary General from the Alliance Peacekeepers' Union, 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 the secretary general of the union of the cadres of internal security (SCSI), Jean-Marc Bailleul.

After the return of the Blues, after their victory in Final of the World Cup, Roissy Monday, Alexander Benalla would have had an "authoritarian and inappropriate" with the gendarmes but also border police officials, abounded David Le Bars.

According to the Secretary General of Unité-SGP, Yves Lefebvre, "Mr. Benalla made terror prevail within the GSPR (Security Group of the Presidency of the Republic). He went so far as to insult the ranks and guardians of peace. "

Q What is the defense of Alexandre Benalla?

Alexandre Benalla says he is" stunned by the use media and political action of May 1 on troublemakers who assaulted the police. "

In a statement released Monday night, his lawyers explain that their client" took the initiative to lend support to the device "after being" witness to the actions of two particularly virulent individuals and the apparent overrun of the operational capabilities of the police on the spot. "They invoke Article 73 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which they believe gives "the possibility to a citizen to challenge people in the context of necessity and proportionality."

Guest on BFMTV Tuesday evening, Laurent-Franck Liénard, one of the lawyers of Alexander Benalla, also advanced that this case has, according to him, "been mounted from scratch to break a world cup effect" …

How did Emmanuel Macron react?

The Head of State will have put almost a week out of his silence on the Benalla affair. Emmanuel Macron ended up speaking Tuesday evening, during a pot of end of parliamentary session organized at the House of Latin America of Paris with deputies of the majority. [19659023] "The one who has trusted Alexandre Benalla is me, the President of the Republic.The one who knew and validated the order, the sanction of my subordinates, it is me and nobody other, "hammered the head of state, saying that" no one has ever been protected ".

"If they want a responsible, it is before you, that they come to get it."

Denouncing "the Republic of the fuses, the Republic of the hate, the one where you have an official here, a collaborator there, "the President of the Republic also spoke of his feeling of" disappointment "and" treason "after the acts of Alexander Benalla.

SB