Man who slapped Macron to spend four months in jail

Damien Tarel, 28, attacked Macron while he was shaking hands with members of the public during a walkabout in France’s Drôme region.

PRETORIA, June 11 (ANA) – A French court has sentenced a 28-year-old man to four months in prison for slapping France’s President Emmanuel Macron in the face during a walkabout, Al Jazeera reported on Thursday.

Damien Tarel, a 28-year-old medieval history enthusiast, has been in custody since the assault on Tuesday, the Middle East-based news channel reported.

Tarel attacked Macron when he was shaking hands with members of the public during a walkabout in France’s Drôme region, Al Jazeera wrote.

According to the Guardian UK, the court in the south-east city of Valence convicted Tarel on a charge of violence against a person invested with public authority.

The online publication explained that he was given four months in prison and an additional 14-month suspended sentence. He was also banned from ever holding public office and from owning weapons for five years.

It said Tarel described himself as a right-wing or extreme-right patriot and member of the gilets jaunes (yellow vests) economic protest movement.

“He shouted a centuries-old royalist war cry as he hit the president,” the publication reported.

After the incident, Tarel admitted to slapping the president.

“When I saw his friendly, lying look, I felt disgust, and I had a violent reaction,” he was quoted as telling the court.

“It was an impulsive reaction… I was surprised myself by the violence.”

He said he and his friends had considered bringing an egg or a cream pie to throw at the president but had dropped the idea. He insisted that the slap wasn’t premeditated.

“I think that Emmanuel Macron represents the decline of our country,” he was quoted as saying.

– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher