French President Emmanuel Macron has come under fresh criticism after appearing to dare opponents to take him on over a scandal surrounding his senior bodyguard and ripping into the media for “talking nonsense”.
Critics say Macron’s office failed to properly punish Alexandre Benalla, the head of his security detail, or refer him promptly to judicial authorities over an incident that has sparked the biggest political crisis of his tenure.
Footage showed Benalla, who was fired on Friday, hitting a male protester and dragging away a woman while off duty and wearing a riot helmet and police tags at a May Day protest in Paris this year.
The presidency said on Wednesday that Benalla’s office at the Élysée Palace had been searched as part of a judicial inquiry into the matter, but gave no other details. Read more