Emmanuel Macron’s former bodyguard has received a three-year sentence for assaulting two young demonstrators during an anti-capitalist protest in 2018, an incident that caused deep embarrassment for the French president.
Alexandre Benalla – who will not be sent to prison after the court suspended two of the three years and ordered him to wear an electronic bracelet for one year – was also convicted of faking documents and illegally carrying a firearm.
Macron, who had made integrity in office a cornerstone of his 2017 election campaign, fired Benalla after a video emerged showing him striking a young man and grabbing a young woman by the neck at a May Day protest in Paris.
The former bouncer, now aged 30, was wearing a police helmet, even though he had only been given leave to attend the protest as an observer.
The presidency was accused of a cover-up for failing to report Benalla to the police until French daily Le Monde revealed the existence of the video two months after the incident.
The case became a significant test for Macron’s presidency.