Police arrest two for slapping France President Macron
Police in France has arrested two people in connection with an incident where French President Emmanuel Macron was slapped in the face by a man in a crowd of onlookers while on a walkabout in southern France.
The 43-year old Head of State was the target of a man donning a green top in what constitutes a serious security breach.
Macron’s security entourage quickly intervened to pull the man to the ground and move the President away from him.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex has described the incident as an affront to democracy.
The incident took place while Macron was on a visit to the Drome region in south-eastern France, where he met restaurateurs and students to talk about how life is returning to normal after the COVID-19 epidemic.
In a video circulating on social media, Macron, dressed in shirt sleeves, could be seen walking towards a crowd of well-wishers who were behind a metal barrier.
The French president reached out his hand to greet one man, in a green T-Shirt, with glasses and a face mask.
The man could be heard shouting out “Down with Macronia” (“A Bas La Macronie”) and then he delivered a slap to Macron’s face.
But Macron is not the only President to suffer such an embarrassment.
Former US President George Walker Bush once had two shoes thrown at him by a man suspected to be a journalist during a visit to Iraq.
And just recently a man stopped President Uhuru Kenyatta”s motorcade for a couple of seconds after walking to the middle of the road.
The man said he was seeking audience with President Kenyatta to express the challenges he is facing to make ends meet.