ZCZC
BFF-48
FRANCE-POLITICS-ASSAULT-POLICE
Heat rises on Macron as security aide scandal upends parliament
PARIS, July 22, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A dismissed security aide for French
President Emmanuel Macron was to face a judge Sunday over his alleged assault
of a protester, a scandal which has forced the government to suspend
parliamentary proceedings.
So far Macron has refused to address the potential charges against
Alexandre Benalla, 26, who was fired on Friday after a video emerged where he
is seen beating up a young man during a May Day demonstration in Paris.
Benalla is seen wearing a police helmet and visor while assaulting the man
alongside police, though Benalla is not a police officer and Macron’s office
has said he was only supposed to be accompanying the police as an observer.
An investigating judge opened an inquiry Sunday before auditioning Benalla
and his associate Vincent Crase, an employee in Macron’s Republic on the Move
(LREM) party who also attended the protest.
Three police officers suspected of providing video surveillance footage to
Benalla last week so he could try to clear his name will also be questioned
Sunday.
The man struck by Benalla, along with a young woman whom Benalla violently
wrestled to the ground during the scuffles with police — seen on a second
video of the incident which emerged on Thursday — are also expected to
testify at a later date.
– Deafening silence –
Investigative commissions have been created in both the National Assembly
and the Senate, with some lawmakers accusing the government of trying to
cover up a scandal which should have been reported to prosecutors
immediately.
Since last Thursday they have effectively blocked the government’s efforts
to debate a constitutional reform bill promised by Macron during his election
campaign.
It was not clear who informed Benalla’s superiors of his assault, but
Macron’s office said last week that he had been suspended without pay for two
weeks in early May and transferred from security affairs to an administrative
role.
Yet Benalla has continued to be seen in Macron’s security details since
then.
“If Macron doesn’t explain himself the Benalla affair will become the
Macron affair,” far-right leader Marine Le Pen posted on Twitter.
Laurent Wauquiez, the head of the rightwing Republicans party, accused the
government of “trying to camouflage a matter of state”.
But an LREM spokesman, Gabriel Attal, said that if Macron addressed the
issue now, “we’d have indignant commentators everywhere saying his comments
could influence the inquiry.”
Yet French daily Le Parisien reported that Macron organised a crisis
meeting Saturday with his top advisers, including Interior Minister Gerard
Collomb and Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet.
Collomb will appear before MPs for questioning on Monday morning, after
media reports suggested he knew about Benalla’s assault but kept quiet.
– ‘Macron defenceless’ –
Benalla was taken into custody Friday after his dismissal, and is facing
charges of violence by a public official, impersonating a police officer and
complicity in unauthorised use of surveillance footage.
A source close to the inquiry said that Macron’s cabinet chief, Patrick
Strzoda, had been questioned by investigators on Thursday.
The affair is particularly embarrassing for Macron since he won the
presidency with pledges to restore transparency and integrity to the nation’s
highest office.
Adding to the controversy, Le Monde reported Friday that despite his
suspension Benalla was allowed this month to move into a palatial mansion
along the Seine reserved for Elysee workers.
He was also being provided with a car and driver, the paper reported.
“Macron defenceless,” the Journal du Dimanche said in a front-page headline
on Sunday over a picture of the president and Benalla.
BSS/AFP/MRI/1008 hrs