The incident took place on the night of April 28th, 2017, after an election rally by Emmanuel Macron. Alexandre Benalla – who has now lost his job as the president's security aide – posed for a selfie in a restaurant. In it he is shown holding his gun. The problem for Benalla, however, is that at the time he was not authorised to carry a firearm. The prosecution authorities have now announced a preliminary investigation into the matter. Christophe Gueugneau and Antton Rouget report.
Emmanuel Macron's security aide posed for a selfie holding his gun on a campaign trip during the presidential election in 2017 even though he was not at the time authorised to carry a firearm outside the campaign headquarters, Mediapart can reveal. A photograph shows Alexandre Benalla with the weapon at a restaurant on April 28th, 2017, following a rally held by the centrist candidate. Yet in July this year Benalla, who was sacked as a presidential security aide after he was captured on video beating up a protestor while unlawfully wearing police insignia, insisted in a newspaper interview that he had not carried a weapon during the presidential campaign. “We're not nutters, there was a risk to the candidate's reputation,” Benalla told journalists from Le Monde in July 2018.
Yet the evidence of the photo, published here by Mediapart, and witness evidence suggest that Alexandre Benalla, who was in charge of security for Emmanuel Macron's 2017 presidential campaign, did indeed carry a weapon on at least one occasion.
