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French President Emmanuel Macron Slapped In The Face

French President Emmanuel Macron Slapped In The Face

Two men have been arrested following the incident, according to local media

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

This is the moment French President Emmanuel Macron was slapped in the face by a man during an official visit:

The clip, which has been circulating on social media, shows Mr Macron walking over to a barrier with crowds on the other side waiting to greet him.

Wearing a black face mask, the leader begins to speak to people and reaches out to someone, before a man wearing a khaki green coloured t-shirt takes a swipe for him before a barrage of security step in.

Mr Macron was visiting Drôme, a department in Southeastern France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

Twitter

According to reports from French media, two men have now been arrested following the incident.

Immediately after being slapped, the president was rushed away from the crowds. He was there meeting restaurateurs and students to talk about how life is returning to normal after Covid-19 put the world on hold.

It seems that despite being ushered away, Mr Macron stayed close by and even continued talking to people on the other side of the barriers.

According to the Telegraph, the presidential administration said there had been an attempt to strike Macron, but declined to comment further.

Politicians have been quick to condemn the act with Prime Minister Jean Castex saying that disagreement and debate 'must never in any case mean violence, verbal aggression and even less physical attack'.

Twitter

Manuel Bompard, a member of the European Parliament, took to Twitter, writing: "Solidarity with the President of the Republic slapped with cries of 'Montjoie Saint-Denis', slogan of the royalist far-right. No disagreement can justify physical assault. Hopefully this time everyone finally understands it."

Far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon also tweeted his 'solidarity with the President' following the altercation.

President Macron is currently touring France and had just visited a hotel school in Tain-l'Hermitage, Drôme.

According to the BBC, the visit comes on the eve of a major step for French hospitality (bars and restaurants) which will start to reopen to indoor customers after seven months of being closed.

The overnight curfew for the country will also be pushed back on Wednesday (9 June) from 9pm to 11pm.

Featured Image Credit: Twitter

Topics: Viral, News