Oh Macron...
On the 1st of May, some militants captured on video what appeared to be police brutality in Paris during a clash with the CRS (anti riot police) including punching a man in the neck. You can see the video below, the offender is the man appearing at the beginning and end, wearing what looks like a CRS helmet but no armor or uniform. It was assumed it was maybe a member of the BAC (plainclothes officers in charge of first response in delinquency) but if so would probably have had the mandatory orange arm band identifying him as a policeman.
It turns out, as discovered just now, he's not at all a policeman but Alexandre Benalla, a member of Macron's team (formerly in charge of "security questions", apparently has done a lot of similar duties at the Socialist Party, driving candidates, party own security detail in meetings) currently appointed at the French presidential palace l'Elysée (as a deputy to the cabinet director) and had of course no delegation whatsoever to enforce the State monopoly on violence.
No reaction from Macron yet, but the man has been punished with a final warning before termination and put on leave without pay... for two weeks. Supposedly demoted to "security questions" again since, he was inside the coach transporting the football team down the Champs Élysées
It's slowly coming out that his attitude raised eyebrows in Macron's party, he allegedly tried to order rubber ball launchers and riot shields during the campaign in 2017 but was denied by the direction. Looks like the sort of dude getting a hard on playing commando and punching students.
A preliminary investigation has been opened by common justice authorities following the media coverage though.
