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Interior Minister Gérard Collomb before his hearing by the Commission of the Interior laws of the National Assembly on July 23, 2018 in Paris / AFP
Interior Minister Gérard Collomb defended Monday of any personal fault in the management of the Benalla case, returning responsibility for possible breaches to the Paris police chief and Emmanuel Macron's chief of staff, during a crucial hearing at the National Assembly
Videos showing Alexandre Benalla, a close associate of the Head of State, in the process of hitting and mistreating two protesters on 1 May in Paris while accompanying the police as "observers" (but with a police officer's armband and helmet), continue to have political repercussions, going as far as to paralyze Assembly
Emmanuel Macron promised the "truth" on this issue, hoping to extinguish the most serious political crisis of his quinquennium
Heard for nearly two and a half hours by the Committee on the Laws of the Assembly With the prerogatives of inquiry, the Minister of the Interior, who was called to resign by both right-wing and left-wing figures, defended himself vigorously under heavy fire from the deputies' questions.
Gerard Collomb claimed to have been informed the next day of the facts by his office of the existence of the video on which we see Alexandre Benalla hit and mistreat two protesters in the presence of a staff of the Republic on the march (LREM), Vincent Crase, also "observer".
Alexandre Benalla (helmet and hood) intervenes on May 1st on a demonstrator in Paris / AFP / Archives [19659003Buthefeltthatitwasnotforhimtobringtojusticethoseactswhichheagaincondemned"withthegreatestfirmness"
"It is not the minister who to do. (…) I consider that it is for those who are responsible in their administrations, closer to the field, to collect the elements to justify the transmission of a report under Article 40 "of the Code On May 2, "I made sure that both the office of the President of the Republic and the Prefect of Police had been recipients of the information. I thought, as is the rule, that the appropriate measures had been taken. It was up to them to take the sanctions and possibly to inform the judicial authorities ", underlined Gerard Collomb, affirming moreover to have" never been informed "before the presence of the two observers place of the Contrescarpe (Ve arrondissement ) where the video was shot
"It was after I became aware of the information given by Le Monde (July 18th) that I asked my director of cabinet to seize the IGPN it was effective the next day, "he said, specifying having" expanded "this seizure after the indictment of three police officers.
In addition, the minister disputed knowing Alexandre Benalla, whose he was unaware of the functions at the Elysee, even if he had necessarily "crossed" during the election campaign Emmanuel Macron where he was responsible for the security of the candidate.It was "obviously" never questioned that this reservist of the gendarmerie takes the head of a future Direction of the security of the presidency of the Republic, he assured
The prefect of police Michel Delpuech, whose position seemed very weakened after this hearing, should himself be heard in the same framework from 14:00.
The Interior Minister will be Tuesday before the Senate commission of inquiry, which could also hear Wednesday, according to parliamentary sources, the chief of staff of the President of the Republic Patrick Strzoda , also in the hot seat.
– "Nothing seen", "nothing said" –
"We have understood the strategy that is that of the Minister of the Interior: to save himself, even if to send the responsibility to the prefect of police and the chief of staff of the President of the Republic, as if they themselves had no kind of hierarchical authority "above them, reacted in front of the press the spokesman of the Party Socialist, Boris Vallaud
ecologist Senator Esther Benbassa joked about Twitter on the "balance sheet of this first audition": "I did not see anything, I was not told anything, ask the Elysee, the prefect, me, Benalla, do not know
Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said earlier that the President of the Republic was "extremely determined that the truth could be established". Criticized for his silence or his inaction on this issue, the head of state has canceled his trip Wednesday on the Tour de France, announced the Elysee at midday, explaining that Prime Minister Philippe Philippe had already attended the Last week at a stage of the Tour.
Sunday night, his entourage had said that Emmanuel Macron deemed "unacceptable" the facts alleged against Alexander Benalla while promising that there would be "no impunity".
The 26-year-old chargé de mission, whose dismissal was announced on Friday, LREM's Vincent Crase employee and three senior police officers suspected of having transmitted to the councilor of the Elysee CCTV images of the incident were indicted Sunday evening: the first two including "violence in meetings" and the three police officers for "breach of professional secrecy" and "misappropriation of images "
The Head of State asked the Secretary General of the Elysee Alexis Kohler to" lead the reorganization to prevent such a dysfunction recurring. "
Parallel to the parliamentary inquiry, an administrative investigation was entrusted to the "font police" who should submit his report "at the end of this week", according to the Speaker of the National Assembly François de Rugy.
On the map In addition to being indicted, Alexandre Benalla and Vincent Crase have been subjected to a judicial review which prohibits them from holding a public office or public service mission, detaining a weapon and coming into contact with other protagonists of the case
The case upset the political agenda and paralyzed the Assembly: the review of the constitutional revision had to be suspended until further notice in the face of the chaos provoked by the hemicycle r this scandal.
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