Macron under fire after aide caught beating protester

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French President Emmanuel Macron came under fire on Thursday after his office briefly suspended one of his aides for beating a May Day protester and posing as a police officer, but did not inform law enforcement authorities.

Critics of Macron said the incident reinforced perceptions of a lofty, out-of-touch president, following controversies over government spending on official crockery, a swimming pool built at a presidential retreat, and cutting remarks by the president about the costs of welfare.

A video from a May Day rally this year, released by Le Monde newspaper on Wednesday, showed a man wearing a police helmet and identification tag dragging a woman away and then beating a demonstrator. He was later recognized as a member of the French presidency staff.

Alexandre Benalla, a French presidential aide, is seen during the May Day labor union rally in Paris, France, May 1, 2018. /Reuters Photo

"The staff member, Alexandre Benalla, had been given permission to witness the demonstrations only as an observer," presidential spokesman Bruno Roger-Petit said in a video statement.

"Clearly, he went beyond this... He was immediately summoned by the president's chief of staff and given a 15-day suspension. This came as punishment for unacceptable behavior."

On a trip to southwestern France on Thursday, Macron declined to answer questions from reporters on the subject.

The Paris prosecutor, which was unaware of the matter before Thursday, launched a preliminary investigation against Benalla on suspicion of violence, usurping the function of a police officer and using signs reserved for public authorities.

Later the speaker of the lower house of parliament, Francois de Rugy, announced a parliamentary inquiry into the case.

Opposition parties condemned the presidency's handling of the matter, arguing the punishment was too lenient and that the incident should have been referred promptly to judicial authorities.

Some lawmakers in Macron's centrist party also called for Benalla to be dismissed. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who denounced "shocking images" in the video, said it was now up to the courts to decide.

Labor unions hold demonstrations every year on May 1 in France and clashes with police are not uncommon.

After the 15-day suspension, Benalla was brought back into the president's immediate entourage. He helped to organize festivities when France's World Cup champion soccer team came home earlier this week and was seen next to the team bus.

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Source(s): Reuters