During a trip to southeast France on Tuesday on the second stop of a nation-wide tour, a bystander slapped French President Emmanuel Macron across the face. The man in a green T-shirt slapped Mr Macron in the face before officers quickly moved in.
On social media and broadcast on the BFM news channel, images showed Macron approach a barrier to greet a man who, instead of shaking hands, slapped the 43-year-old across the face. Macron’s bodyguards quickly intervened. Two people were arrested afterwards, local officials said.
In a statement, the regional prefecture said, “The man who tried to slap the president and another individual are currently being questioned by the gendarmerie.”
The slapping-incident in the village of Tain-l’Hermitage in the Drome region represents a serious security breach. It almost overshadows the start of Macron’s tour which he said was designed to “take the country’s pulse.”
The prefecture said, “Around 1:15 pm (1115 GMT), the president got back into his car after visiting a high school and came back out because onlookers were calling out to him.”
The identity and motive of the man are unclear. Shortly after the slap, officers were out in force on the streets of Valence.
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President Macron’s protection detail
Security Group for the Presidency of the Republic, known as GSPR protects French presidents. GSPR was set up in 1983 and is reportedly composed of 77 men and women to protect Mr Macron during events. The Director of the GSPR has been Georges Salinas of the National Police, since 2019, assisted by Colonel Benoît Ferrand of the National Gendarmerie.
Officers of GSPR scout locations before a presidential visit, according to French TV channel BFM. Subsequently, armed personnel are assigned to closely guard the president on the trip itself. The French channel reported that on Tuesday’s trip, 10 members of the GSPR were with Mr Macron.
