28-year-old Damien Tarel who describes himself as a right-wing or extreme right ‘patriot’ who slapped French President Emmanuel Macron in the face during a meet-and-greet on Tuesday was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
The man acknowledged he had caught Macron with a ‘rather violent’ swipe but defended his ac stating that it was impulsive and unplanned.
During Thursday’s trial, he sat straight and showed no emotion as the court in the southeastern city of Valence convicted him on a charge of violence against a person invested with public authority.
Tarel who says he is a member of the yellow vest economic protest movement disclosed in court that he and his friends had considered bringing an egg or a cream pie to throw at the president, but they dropped the idea — and insisted that the slap wasn’t premeditated.
“I think that Emmanuel Macron represents the decline of our country,” he said, without explaining what he meant.
President Macron’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Tarel’s courtroom remarks.