The Benalla Case: a French Scandal

After several months of investigation, the French newspaper called Le Monde revealed that Alexandre Benalla, one of the immediate staff of the French President attacked two demonstrators during a protest in Paris on May, 1.

In the days following the protest, an amateur video of the scene was released in some social networks and massively shared. On it, a man (Alexandre Benalla was not already identified), wearing a police helmet grabs by neck a woman and then hits several times a demonstrator still on the ground. Two months later, Benalla is identified as being the man on the clip and created a real media explosion, all the more because the Office of the President recognized that they were still aware of it. As a result, the man got laid off only 2 weeks and was demoted. For the opposition, these sanctions were lenient and biased.

Benalla is a close to President Macron. He was responsible for overall President security during the presidential campaign and was upgraded as soon as Macron was elected. A successful career nothing if not surprising when one knows that he was laid off by the former Minister Montebourg. Why? He caused a car accident and wanted to flee.

Currently, the Benalla case is explosive. The fact that a civilian, linked to politics, hits demonstrators disguised as a police officer seriously raises questions. Officially, he only had to observe the protest and the police. But the problem is going further.

Many newspapers pointed out all the privileges he had. First, he was wearing a police equipment (helmet, armbands). Therefore, Right-Left opposition compared it to a Militia sent by the President to “regulate his business”. Then, he had a private car and a driver. Moreover, he lived in a flat near the presidential palace. Thus, he was allowed to carry weapons despite the former government refusal. Indeed, the Holland government refused it because some colleagues described him as a “Rambo”.

Currently, as try as the government mays to settle the Benalla case, this one is becoming a State Scandal, which hits senior officials, and among others, the Interior Minister.

But, today, the Interior Minister was heard on it. He said he was unaware and explained why he did not give the case to justice on May: “it is the role of Macron’s Office and of the prefecture, not mine”, he said.

By Antoine Dewaest

Photo: Naguib-Michel Sidhom-AFP