Who is the 28-year-old Tarel who slapped President Macron?

The slap in the face to French President Emanuel Macron yesterday, Tuesday, during his visit to southeastern France is a “serious” action, which, however, “is not representative” of the French or even the “anger” of some among them, the government assessed today. representative.

“Obviously we should not downplay” this ‘violent action’ against the head of state, ‘because it is serious, because any form of violence is serious, and it is also serious when it touches a representative, a public guardian, or a mayor.’ , for “MP”, for “civil servant” or for the president, said Gabriel Atal on the private radio station Europe 1.

With this slap “there is an insult to the sanctity of the service to which we are all committed” and “we are all, as Frenchmen who were attacked, partly humiliated,” he added.

However, he said it was “an isolated incident, because we should not feel that what was done by that man is representative of French society or population, including some outrage on the part of the French.”

Although there are indeed “anxious French, who doubt, who are angry”, “they know how to express this in the context of the public debate in the vote,” he said.

Emanuel Macron was slapped by a man who shouted the royal “Montjoie Saint Denis” war cry during a visit to Drum (southeast) on Tuesday.

According to sources close to the investigation, the man was the manager of a medieval martial arts club and has a white criminal record. 

International media report that on his Instagram account he appears to be wearing armor and holding swords, posing in hay bales with robes and a velvet beret, and wearing a helmet used in Kendo’s Japanese martial art.

A police source said the suspect is 28-year-old Damien Tarel. He is being investigated for violence against a public official, the local prosecutor’s office said.

Tarel and another man are still being held today, said a source close to the investigation. The charge of assault carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros.

Tarel ran a local martial arts club that focused on the practice of European martial arts throughout history.

On YouTube, Tarel was a subscriber to far-right channels, such as that of Henri de Lescen, who was convicted in 2018 of inciting hatred and pleading guilty to a crime against humanity, or pro-royal ones such as Cercle Richelieu.

He writes on his Facebook page that he “loves” the channel of the organization Action Francaise Lyon, among others who advocate the same views.

This is not the first time Macron has been targeted by disgruntled citizens. In 2016, when he was finance minister, he was attacked with eggs by hardline left-wing trade unionists for labor reforms and two years later was ostracized by anti-government protesters.