By: V4 Agency
Although Macron’s former security chief is the subject of many ongoing proceedings, the prosecutor’s office has proposed judicial procedures agaist him for an incident which took place in May 2018, when he brutally beat up many protesters.
Although Alexandre Benalla, President Macron’s former security chief, was dismissed more than two years ago, the scandal surrounding his past actions has not died away. The prosecutor’s office in Paris has initiated a trial agaist the man of Moroccan descent for his violent intervention in a protest on 1 May 2018, Le Figaro wrote, citing sources close to the AFP news agency. Mr Benalla can be clearly identified in the videos filmed during the demonstration as he is manhandling and beating protesters.
The prosecutor’s office has confirmed these press reports, adding that it initiated court proceedings against four people, including 29-year-old Mr Benalla, on suspicion of causing bodily harm, unauthorised intervention in exercising a public function, and the illegal carrying of a firearm.
Alexandre Benalla and Vincent Crase, another former member of Macron’s secuirty team, are accused of abusing protesters on Place de la Contrescarpe in Paris, but the defendants deny any wrongdoing. They say they merely assisted police in arresting protesters who had previously attacked officers with pyrotechnic devices, for which they each received a fine of 500 euros in February 2019. Besides Mr Benalla and Mr Crase, the prosecutor’s office also requested an investigation against two police officers on charges of breaching professional secrecy.
Judicial procedings against Macron’s former bodyguard are under way with regards to four additional cases. He was summoned to court in late January for the fraudulent use of official documents, as he unlawfully used his diplomatic passport several times after his dismissal.