The truth about the release of the young man who slapped Macron

A post appeared on social media in Arabic claiming that the French authorities released the young man who slapped President Emmanuel Macron in southeastern France a few days ago, after his lawyers convinced the public prosecutor that Macron violated security measures by approaching the young man.

However, this news is not true, as the young man is currently serving a four-month prison sentence.

"Urgent: The person who slapped the French president was released after his lawyers managed to convince the prosecution that the president did not comply with the procedures of the (one meter) barriers," the post read.

This post was shared by thousands of users on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

This news began to spread the day after a young man named Damien Tarrell slapped President Macron on Tuesday.

The incident was filmed and posted on social networks.

The scenes show Macron during his visit to the city of Tan-l'Hermitage in the province of Drôme, approaching a group of people gathered behind barricades.

When they were about to shake hands with a young man, the latter grabbed his arm and seemed to slap him.

And if a number of users indicated that the post was comical, which is likely to have appeared at first in this way, but many users treated it as serious, and this can be seen through comments and interactions.

In addition, journalists at Agence France-Presse received this publication on the WhatsApp application in a serious context, and the news was the subject of discussion on a number of Arab Clubhouse application groups on Thursday night, Friday, in what was considered by Arab users as leniency by the French authorities regarding such an incident. , compared to what could happen in an Arab country in the face of a similar incident.

If the space for criticism and objection to political officials in France and other democracies of the world is wide compared to what is the case in most Arab countries, but the talk among Arab users about the release of the young man who slapped Macron is not true.

He has been in detention since Tuesday, and the prosecutor has called his behavior toward Macron "completely unacceptable" and a "deliberate act of violence."

On Thursday, the judiciary issued a sentence to imprison the 28-year-old for a period of one and a half years, including 14 months with a suspended sentence, meaning that he will spend only four months behind bars.

During questioning, Damien Tarrell said he "acted instinctively and thoughtlessly to express his dissatisfaction".

He also added that he is close to the "yellow jackets movement", and that it aligns with "traditional political beliefs of the right or the extreme right" without having any party or movement affiliation.

In court, Tarrell, who is unemployed and lives on state benefits with his disabled girlfriend, said Macron "represents the decline of the country."

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