MAN WHO SLAPPED FRENCH PRESIDENT JAILED
Damien Tarel, the man who slapped French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, has been sentenced to four months in prison, with an additional 14 month suspended.
Tarel slapped Macron on Tuesday as the president was greeting a crowd in the southeastern part of France, in a town called Tain-l’Hermitage.
The 28-year-old, who was charged with violence against a person invested with public authority, told the court during his hearing that it was an act of impulse. The prosecutor said it was a "deliberate act of violence", reports the BBC.
"When I saw his friendly, lying look, I felt disgust, and I had a violent reaction," Tarel told the court. "It was an impulsive reaction… I was surprised myself by the violence."
Sky News reported that the defendant described himself as a right-wing or extreme "patriot", and a member of the yellow vest economic protest movement that shook Mr Macron's presidency in 2018 and 2019.
The French president has decided not to press charges in his personal capacity, saying he prefers to leave it in the hands of the court.
Watch the CNN video below for footage of how the French president was slapped in the face by a member of the public.
Image credit: The Times of Israel