French President Macron is slapped in the face during a visit to a small town
French President Emmanuel Macron was slapped in the face as he shook hands in a crowd during a visit to a small town in southern France on Tuesday. Two men, both in their late 20s, have been arrested.
The scene, which was filmed, shows Macron working a rope line in the town of Tain-l'Hermitage. While shaking Macron's hand, a man is able to slap his face before security intervenes.
French media say they are identified with the yellow vest movement — the mostly white, working class protests that dogged Macron politically and personally during much of 2018 and 2019.
The slapper yelled "Montjoie Saint-Denis, à bas la Macronie." Part of the phrase is a 12th century royalist slogan that today has become a rallying cry of the far right. The other part means "down with Macronism."
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French politicians from across the political spectrum were quick to condemn the attack.
Far right leader Marine Le Pen called the behavior unacceptable and deeply deplorable in a democracy.
And former President Francois Hollande tweeted, "To attack a President of the Republic is to give an unbearable intolerable blow to our institutions."
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