A bystander slapped French President Emmanuel Macron across the face during a trip to southeast France on Tuesday on the second stop of a nation-wide tour.
Macron’s bodyguards quickly intervened and two people were arrested afterwards.
Images on social media and broadcast on the BFM news channel showed Macron approach a barrier to greet a man who, instead of shaking hands, slapped the 43-year-old across the face.
“The man who tried to slap the president and another individual are currently being questioned by the gendarmerie,” the regional prefecture said in a statement.
In a video circulating on social media, Mr Macron is seen walking up to a barrier on a trip to Tain-l’Hermitage outside the city of Valence.
A man in a green T-shirt slaps Mr Macron in the face before officers quickly move in. The president, meanwhile, is pulled away.
The man reportedly shouted “Down with Macron-ism” as he slapped the president.
The identify of the man who slapped Macron, and his motives, were unclear. While slapping the President, he could be heard shouting “Montjoie Saint Denis,” which was the battle cry of the French armies when the country was still a monarchy.
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