A senior security advisor to French president Emmanuel Macron has been caught out impersonating a riot policeman in order to beat up anti-government protestors.
Astonishing video footage captured at a street demonstration in Paris shows Alexandre Benalla, who is in his mid-30s, attacking two young protesters, one female, one male.
It has led to a political scandal, with opponents of Mr Macron accusing him of trying to cover up the attacks, and calling for Benalla to be imprisoned.
The deputy chief of staff at the Elysee Palace had put on a police helmet, despite not being authorised to do so.
He can clearly be seen first of all grabbing a young woman by the neck at the demonstration on May 1 – a traditional day of street action that this year saw hundreds of thousands campaigning across France against Mr Macron’s employment reforms.
Video footage from a street demonstration in Paris on May 1 shows Emmanuel Macron’s deputy chief of staff Alexandre Benalla wearing a police helmet to beat up a male (pictured being thrown on the floor by him right) and female protester (grabbed by him left)
Emmanuel Macron’s deputy chief of staff: Alexandre Benalla is pictured outside the Elysee Palace in Paris
Benalla then turns his attention to a bearded Left-wing activist who has been apprehended by gendarmes.
The burly Benalla pulls the man away from the police, and starts slapping him around the head by himself.
When other demonstrators start shouting at Benalla, he looks scared of being identified behind his visor, and then slinks off to a café.
Alexis Corbiere, an MP and spokesman for former far-Left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, said he ‘asked for penal sanctions’ against a ‘colleague of Macron who disguised himself as a police officer to commit violence.’
And Paris barrister Raquel Garrido said: ‘I hope that prosecutors have already initiated criminal proceedings against Alexandre Benalla, head of security of Emmanuel Macron. In addition to violence, it is question of usurpation..’
According to Le Monde, which broke the story in France, there are other incriminating videos to go with the ones already posted on platforms including Twitter.
Alexandre Benalla, in his 30s, is pictured impersonating a police officer during the protest
Benalla refused to comment, but Mr Macron’s chief of staff said: ‘Alexandre Benalla had warned me two days earlier [before the demonstration] that he wanted to take part in an operation with the police to see how a large demonstration was handled.
‘He asked me for permission, I gave it to him, but making it clear that he was an observer.
‘The day after the demonstration, I was informed by a colleague that Mr Benalla had been recognised in the field as being involved in law enforcement operations, and I saw the videos. I summoned the same day, I asked him if it was him.’
When other demonstrators start shouting at Benalla, he looks scared of being identified behind his visor, and then slinks off to a café (pictured)
When Benalla said yes, Mr Macron himself called for Benalla to be suspended from his duties for 15 days up until May 19, but the incident was otherwise hushed up.
Benalla currently remains at the Elysee, but has been assigned to an administrative position where he deals with the security of organised events ‘inside the Palace’, including recent World Cup celebrations.
Benalla grew up in Evreux, in Normandy, and took a law degree before being fast-tracked into VIP protection work.
He started working directly to Mr Macron in 2016, building up a reputation as an uncompromising security chief.
Mr Macron, an independent centrist, portrays himself as a relaxed liberal, but is becoming increasingly well known for his reactionary law and order policies.
An bystander tweeted the police and the French President to demand answers over the shocking video footage
Benalla is pictured being confronted by a bystander before it was posted on Twitter