Two days after the incident that shook France, a court ruled on Thursday to imprison a young man for 4 months with immediate effect and 14 months suspended sentence for slapping President Emmanuel Macron, according to a reporter from "Sky News Arabia." The accused, Damien Tarell, is 28 years old and was arrested after the sudden slap he delivered to Macron's face with a loud sound on Tuesday, while the French president was greeting a crowd in the southeastern part of the country. Tarell told investigators he acted impulsively, according to the prosecutor's office.
The charge of violence against a person in public authority can lead to a sentence of up to 3 years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros (54,000 dollars). Viral video clips showed Tarell attacking Macron by slapping his left cheek, while personal security pushed him away during a brief meeting and greeting with members of the public, who were kept behind barricades in the wine town of Tain-l'Hermitage. The attacker was heard shouting "Montjoy! Saint-Denis!" which is a centuries-old royalist battle cry, before ending his chant with "Down with Macronism." Tarell told investigators he had connections to the "Yellow Vests" economic protest movement that shook Macron's presidency in 2019, and he holds right-wing or far-right political beliefs without being a member of a party or group, according to the prosecutor's office.
