Europe 1 11:21 am, September 11, 2021
Damien Tarel, sentenced to four months in prison after slapping Emmanuel Macron in June, was released from prison on Saturday morning in Valence.
Questioned by BFM-TV, he says he has "no regrets", and could go to a demonstration against the health pass.
His gesture had aroused unanimous condemnation in the political class.
Last June, Damien Tarel slapped Emmanuel Macron during a trip by the President of the Republic to the Drôme.
Sentenced to 18 months in prison - including 14 suspended - and imprisoned in the wake, the 28-year-old man was released from prison on Saturday in Valence, according to information from France Bleu.
Asked by BFM-TV, he said he had "no regrets".
"Lots of letters of support"
"I had a lot of letters of support," he said in front of the news channel's camera.
"If I was able to hold out, it is thanks to all the support that sent me books, in particular," he adds.
For his first day of freedom, Damien Tarel could go to a demonstration against the health pass this afternoon.
Emmanuel Macron slapped: out of prison, Damien Tarel claims to have "no regrets" pic.twitter.com/cqtmUQjrLk
- BFMTV (@BFMTV) September 11, 2021
On the sidelines of Emmanuel Macron's trip to Tain-L'Hermitage, Damien Tarel, unemployed and living from the RSA, passionate about the Middle Ages, had slapped the head of state by shouting "Montjoie Saint-Denis". In addition to the prison sentence, the court had pronounced against him a definitive prohibition to exercise in the public service, the prohibition to hold a weapon for five years and the deprivation of civic, civil and family rights for three years. He had also been subject to a work or training obligation.