Man slaps French President during crowd walkabout

PARIS: Two people were arrested after French President Emmanuel Macron was slapped by a man during a walkabout session with a crowd in the Drome region in southeastern France, international media reported on Tuesday.

A video clip was circulating on Twitter, which shows a man in a green T-Shirt, with glasses and a face mask, shout out “Down with Macronia” (“A Bas La Macronie”) and then deliver a slap to Macron’s face.

Macron’s security entourage quickly intervened to pull the man to the ground and move Macron away from him. Macron’s entourage confirmed that a man had attempted to slap Macron.

“We must not let ultra-violent people take over the public debate: they do not deserve it,” he told French media.