The man who slapped President Emmanuel Macron of France on Tuesday June 8 has been speaking on why he slapped him.
Now sentenced to four months imprisonment, is 28-year-old Dmien Tarel, now standing trial for the act.
Although he said the action was impulsive, Tarel said he hit Macron because France was, accordingly, facing decline.
According to reports, he acknowledged hitting the president with a “rather violent” slap.
He said, “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.
“I think that Emmanuel Macron represents the decline of our country,” he said, without explaining what he meant.
He also indicated that he had not been Macron’s supporter before, adding that he supported the yellow vest economic protest movement that shook Macron’s presidency in 2019. He told investigators that he held right- or ultra-right political convictions without being a member of a party or group, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Earlier reacting to the slapping, Macron had said: “It’s not such a big deal to get a slap when you go toward a crowd to say hello to some people who were waiting for a long time. But we must not make it banal, because anyone with public authority is entitled to respect.”
