Alexandre Benalla, a former close aide to French President Emmanuel Macron, was charged Sunday with "violence" during May Day protests - "unacceptable" by the French president himself, according to his entourage. as the resident of the Elysee now seems to be facing the most serious political crisis since his promotion to the highest French state office.
President Macron had hoped to ride the wave of national uplift following the Blues' triumph at the World Cup, but instead looks like he was hit by a tsunami following a Le Monde video of the day. of Labor Day.
Alexandre Benalla, then deputy head of the president's office, and Bensan Kraz, a gendarme reservist and the first to work for the president's party, the LREM, were reportedly beaten and abused by protesters in Paris. law enforcement as "observers".
Although a disciplinary measure was discreetly imposed on Benala, he was relieved of his duties for 15 days in May, justice had not yet been served and the former close associate of the president was not fired until Friday.
After three days of preliminary investigation, the Paris prosecutor's office on Sunday night prosecuted Benala and Craz for "gang violence".
Benala is also accused of "interfering" in the performance of his duties as a civil servant, of bringing a police officer "without the right", of "stealing images of a video surveillance system" and of "accepting the violation of professional secrecy". Kraz is accused of "illegal possession of a second-class weapon."
Three senior police officers, who have already been made available for handing over the video in question to Benala, are also facing prosecution for "abuse of a video surveillance system" and "breach of professional secrecy".
Macron promises punishment
Despite the revelations about the case, the head of state, now facing the most serious political crisis since his election in May 2017, continues to remain silent. However, he called the actions of Benalla "unacceptable" and promised that "there will be no impunity", according to a source close to his entourage after a meeting in the Elysee with the participation of many members of his government, including the interior ministers. and Justice.
Macron will speak publicly about the case "when he deems it useful", according to the source in the French presidency. The president also asked the Secretary-General of the Elysee to ensure that his office was "reorganized" to prevent the recurrence of such a "malfunction".
According to one person who took part in the meeting, Macron "condemned" both the behavior of Benala and Kraz, as well as the "malfunctions" that "allowed" Benala to do all this. However, he expressed his "confidence" in the ongoing processes.
Although the spokesman for the French presidency, Bruno Roger-Petty, assured on Thursday that Benalla had been relieved of all his duties regarding the "organization of the security of the president's movements" after May Day, in many photographic snapshots, the accused is depicted in of Macron or the presidential couple.
The opposition demands that the president "give explanations", especially Laurent Vauquier (Republicans, right), while for Jean-Luc Melanson (Insubordinate France, radical left), the case is "Watergate level".
The first to give an explanation will be Interior Minister Gerard Colomb, who is expected to appear before the legislature of the French National Assembly today. Opposition lawmakers, who accuse him of lying to the Senate on Thursday, are expected to pound him and demand his resignation.