PARIS • A dismissed security aide to French President Emmanuel Macron faced a judge yesterday over his alleged assault of a protester, a scandal which has forced the government to suspend parliamentary proceedings.
So far Mr Macron has refused to address the potential charges against Alexandre Benalla, 26, who was fired last Friday after a video emerged where he is seen beating up a young man during a May Day demonstration in Paris.
Benalla is seen wearing a police helmet and visor while assaulting the man alongside police although he is not a police officer and Mr Macron's office has said he was supposed to be only accompanying the police as an observer.
An investigating judge opened an inquiry yesterday before auditioning Benalla and his associate, Mr Vincent Crase, an employee in Mr Macron's Republic on the Move (LREM) party who also attended the protest.
Three police officers suspected of providing video surveillance footage to Benalla last week so he could try to clear his name would also be questioned yesterday .
The man struck by Benalla, along with a young woman whom Benalla violently wrestled to the ground during the scuffles with police - seen on a second video of the incident which emerged last Thursday - were also expected to testify at a later date.
Investigative commissions have been created in both the National Assembly and the Senate, with some lawmakers accusing the government of trying to cover up a scandal which should have been reported to prosecutors immediately.
Since last Thursday, they have effectively blocked the government's efforts to debate a constitutional reform Bill promised by Mr Macron during his election campaign.
It was not clear who informed Benalla's superiors of his assault, but Mr Macron's office said last week that he had been suspended without pay for two weeks in early May and transferred from security affairs to an administrative role.
Yet Benalla has continued to be seen in Mr Macron's security details since then.
"If Macron doesn't explain himself, the Benalla affair will become the Macron affair," far-right leader Marine Le Pen posted on Twitter.
Mr Laurent Wauquiez, the head of the right-wing Republicans party, accused the government of "trying to camouflage a matter of state".
But an LREM spokesman, Mr Gabriel Attal, said that if Mr Macron addressed the issue now, "we'd have indignant commentators everywhere saying his comments could influence the inquiry".
Yet French daily Le Parisien reported that Mr Macron organised a crisis meeting last Saturday with his top advisers, including Interior Minister Gerard Collomb and Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet.
Mr Collomb will appear before MPs for questioning this morning, after media reports suggested that he knew about Benalla's assault but kept quiet.
Benalla was taken into custody last Friday after his dismissal, and is facing charges of violence by a public official, impersonating a police officer and complicity in unauthorised use of surveillance footage.
A source close to the inquiry said that Mr Macron's Cabinet chief, Mr Patrick Strzoda, had been questioned by investigators last Thursday.
The affair is particularly embarrassing for Mr Macron since he won the presidency with pledges to restore transparency and integrity to the nation's highest office.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
