French President Emmanuel Macron stated that the incident of being slapped was an isolated one, orchestrated by violent extremists. He added that violent individuals should not be allowed to dominate political dialogue. Macron was slapped by a person during a visit to the southeastern part of the country, and the police arrested two individuals following the incident. The accused are facing charges of assaulting a public official, which could result in a sentence of up to six months in prison if convicted.
In his first tweet after the "slap" incident, Macron completely ignored the occurrence that stirred discussions on social media and expressed gratitude to farmers. He chose to overlook the incident and focus on France's agricultural sector in his first tweet after the event on his Twitter account. Macron said: "With the reopening of restaurants, we should celebrate the art of cooking as well as French agriculture. I want to once again salute our farmers. They allowed us to feed ourselves well during the lockdown and helped keep the country going. Thank you."
French media widely reported the news on Tuesday, stating that French authorities arrested two people after a man slapped President Macron's face during a tour with a crowd in the Drôme region of southeastern France. A video clip circulated on Twitter shows a man wearing a green shirt, glasses, and a mask shouting "Down with Macronism!" before slapping Macron. The clip also shows Macron's security quickly intervening to pull the man to the ground away from the president. Macron's office confirmed the authenticity of the video widely circulated online, according to the Associated Press.
