A former bodyguard for French President Emmanuel Macron was taken into police custody on Thursday over his continued use of diplomatic passports after he was fired for roughing up protesters, prosecutors said, reports The Straits Times.
Alexandre Benalla was a security official and a member of Macron's inner circle before his dismissal last summer after a video emerged of him assaulting protesters at a May Day demonstration while wearing a police helmet.
The video, and claims that Macron's office tried to cover up the affair, caused a political storm that severely dented the president's popularity.
Benalla was eventually sacked on Aug 1st.
But the 27-year-old returned to the headlines recently after it emerged he had retained several diplomatic passports even after losing his job.
In particular, he used them to travel to Africa to meet with top officials in what some officials fear was an attempt to profit from his former insider status.
Police opened an investigation into suspected abuse of trust and illegal use of professional documents, and a Senate hearing renewed its hearings this week of government officials, including Macron's office director Patrick Strzoda.
Read more of this AFP report published by The Straits Times.