Emmanuel Macron’s assault: a slap in the face for French democracy?
Last week, a protester grabbed the French president by his arm with one hand and slapped him in the face with the other

Emmanuel Macron has never been averse to facing the public, said Jacques Paugam in Le Point (Paris). The highly divisive French president has debated with striking workers outside factories, and faced down gilets jaunes protesters as they hurled abuse at him. So he looked “visibly relaxed” as he greeted a crowd in the town of Tainl’Hermitage on the Rhône in southeast France last week. Until, that is, one of those present grabbed him by the arm with one hand, and slapped him in the face with the other.
At first, Macron looked furious; but he later “shrugged off” this shocking act of violence, said France 24 (Paris), calling it an “isolated event”. Within minutes, he was “defiantly” fist-bumping voters in a nearby town. But the assault united his opponents in condemnation, and set off a debate about France’s “fraught” political climate ahead of next year’s presidential elections; the polls currently give Macron only a narrow lead over his far-right challenger, Marine Le Pen.
The perpetrator of the attack was identified as Damien Tarel, a Holocaust denier with a curious array of interests ranging from the Middle Ages to Japanese pop culture, said Samuel Laurent in Le Monde (Paris). Delivering the slap, he shouted “Montjoie Saint Denis!”, a medieval battle cry, followed by “Down with Macron”. He hadn’t planned his attack, he told a court, but unleashed it in the name of gilets jaunes protesters and other right-wing “patriots”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Tarel has since been jailed for four months – but his actions were a “distressing symptom” of the state of French society, said Isabelle Bollène in L’Alsace (Mulhouse). A surge in assaults on mayors and other elected officials has been reported in the run-up to regional elections being held from 20 June; even teachers and firefighters face threats.
This lamentable episode shows just how divided France has become, said Maxime Tandonnet in Le Figaro (Paris). On the one side is a “bourgeoisie at ease with globalisation”, and with Macron; on the other is “peripheral France”, where support for Le Pen is high. “This slap expresses genuine moral chaos.”
But Macron may yet benefit from the run-in on his “tour de France”, billed as an attempt to gauge the national mood as lockdown lifts, said Richard Werly in Le Temps (Geneva). He knows he’s unpopular among large swathes of the country, but refuses to give in to the “temptation of isolation”. He is gambling on his “inexhaustible talent” as a debater to win voters over, and to convince them to put their faith in him next year. Is that “risky? Yes. Bold? Without a doubt. Calculated? Of course.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Critics' choice: Steak houses that break from tradition
Feature Eight hours of slow-roasting prime rib, a 41-ounce steak, and a former Catholic school chapel turned steakhouse
-
Tash Aw's 6 favorite books about forbidden love
Feature The Malaysian novelist recommends works by James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, and more
-
France and Indonesia promote a contentious bid for an Israel-Palestine two-state solution
Talking Points Both countries have said a two-state solution is the way to end the Middle East conflict
-
Israel's plan to occupy Gaza
In Depth Operation Gideon's Chariots will see Israel sending thousands of troops into Gaza later this month to seize control of the strip
-
Kashmir: on the brink of a 'catastrophic' war
Talking Point Relations between India and Pakistan are 'cratering' in the aftermath of a shocking terror attack in the disputed border region
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designation
The Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Gaza: the killing of the paramedics
In the Spotlight IDF attack on ambulance convoy a reminder that it is 'still possible to be shocked by events in Gaza'
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
Who are the West Bank settlers?
The Explainer While all eyes are on Gaza, Israeli settlers are encroaching further onto Palestinian land in the West Bank
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests