A French court sentenced the 28-year-old man who slapped the president in the face, to four months in prison on Thursday June 10.
—
Damien Tarel was immediately arrested after the incident which occurred as the French leader was greeting a crowd in the region on Tuesday.
—
The court in the south-east city of Valence convicted Tarel on Thursday, on a charge of violence against a person invested with public authority. He was given four months in prison and an additional 14-month suspended sentence, and was banned from ever holding public office and from owning weapons for five years.
—
Tarel described himself as a right-wing or extreme-right “patriot” and member of the gilets jaunes economic protest movement.
—
After the incident, Tarel acknowledged hitting the president. “When I saw his friendly, lying look, I felt disgust, and I had a violent reaction,” he told 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 – and insisted that the slap wasn’t premeditated.
—
“I think that Emmanuel Macron represents the decline of our country,” he said, without explaining what he meant.
—
Macron wouldn't comment on the trial, but insisted that “nothing justifies violence in a democratic society, never.”
—
Another man arrested in the ruckus that followed the slap, identified by the prosecutor as Arthur C, will be judged at a later date, in 2022, for illegal possession of weapons.
No comments:
Post a Comment