The man who slapped President Emmanuel Macron during a visit to southeast France on Tuesday shouted ‘Montjoie Saint Denis’ before the attack. Who is the attacker, and what does it mean?
The man, who was caught on video in the attack, shouted: “Montjoie Saint Denis! À bas la Macronie (down with Macronism)”.
In France ‘Macronism’ simply refers to a word for President Macron’s political movement, the phrase ‘Montjoie Saint Denis’ is a slogan that comes directly from the royalist history of France.
It was used as a battle cry by former kings of France, and also appears on old coats of arms and symbols used by kings of Spanish region Navarre, Per Second News gathered.
‘Montjoie Saint Denis ’is currently being used in France by thousands of extreme-right ideology.
The Attacker
Two men aged 28 are in police custody, in connection with the offence of ‘unprovoked violence against a person holding public authority’.
The men, whose names have been revealed only as Damien T. and Arthur C, were not previously known to police or authorities.
The first man tested positive for alcohol in his blood, it has been reported, and early investigations have found that Damien T. may have links with far-right or fascist groups.
Weapons and a copy of Adolf Hitler’s infamous book Mein Kampf have been found at the home of one of the men.
One of the men is accused of being the one to attempt to slap the president, while the other is accused of being an accomplice.
Damien T. has been found to subscribe to a YouTube channel run by a far-right ‘influencer named Papacito, whose previous videos include how to attack a member of La France Insoumise party.
The duo risk up to three years in prison and €45,000 in fines.
The president’s security team has already said that it does not believe that security around the crowd where the incident took place, was sufficient. One of the team said that they had advised the president not to approach the barriers before he did so.
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