On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron was slapped in the face while he visited a small town called Tain-l’Hermitage in southern France.
People waited behind barriers to shake hands and meet the president, but as Macron ran to them, he was promptly slapped by a man in the crowd.
His bodyguards quickly aprehended two males, aged 28, and evacuated Macron.
One of the thugs yelled, “Montjoie et Saint-Denis! Down with Macronism.” The first part being a medieval battle cry, the second half was translated in English from French.
French political opposition leader, Marine Le-Pen, commented on the incident in an interview. “I am the first opponent of Emmanuel Macron, but he is the president of the Republic. We can fight him politically, but we cannot afford to have to the slightest violence,” she said.
Macron was later interviewed by a newspaper outlet where he said this was an “isolated” incident.
“Everything is fine. You have to relativize this incident, which is I think an isolated one. We can’t let this take over the public discussion of more important issues which concern everyone’s lives,” he said.
According to the BBC, authorities investigated the homes of the assailants. One of them had Adolf Hitler’s, “Mien Kompf,” and several antique weapons.
Muslim Twitter account users appear to be very pleased with Macron’s assault, some claiming he is “Islamaphobic.” See some tweets below: