France's Macron under fire after aide caught beating protester

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

JULY 19, 2018 / 3:28 AM / UPDATED 25 MINUTES AGO

Simon Carraud, Matthias Blamont
3 MIN READ

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron came under fire on Thursday after his office briefly suspended one of his aides for beating a May Day protester and posing as a police officer, but did not inform law enforcement authorities.

Critics of Macron said the incident reinforced perceptions of a lofty, out-of-touch president, following controversies over government spending on official crockery, a swimming pool built at a presidential retreat, and cutting remarks by the president about the costs of welfare.

A video from a May Day rally this year, released by Le Monde newspaper on Wednesday, showed a man wearing a police helmet and identification tag dragging a woman away and then beating a demonstrator. He was later recognized as a member of the French presidency staff.

“The staff member, Alexandre Benalla, had been given permission to witness the demonstrations only as an observer,” presidential spokesman Bruno Roger-Petit said in a video statement.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-macron-aide/frances-macron-under-fire-after-aide-caught-beating-protester-idUSKBN1K90YT?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29&&rpc=401

[sandensea]

1. Macron needs to nip that in the bud - or people will start calling him 'Macri'

You'll recall that Argentina's (deeply unpopular) Macri has a habit of infiltrating plainclothes state security goons in protests - who then throw rocks and molotov cocktails at the real police in order to both trigger a response, and to provide right-wing media with good click-bait photos.

Nixon used to do this during Vietnam protests, you'll recall (and many other questionable regimes).

Thanks for this update.