Damien Tarel, the medieval martial arts enthusiast who slapped President Emmanuel Macron across the face has been sentenced to a prison term of 4mths.

Tarel who has been in police custody since the incident happened, was arraigned before a court in the town of Valence on Thursday. He told the court that he was a right-wing sympathizer who had acted because the president represented all that was rotten with France.

According to BFM, a France news medium, Tarel told the court in Valence that several days ahead of Macron’s visit to the southeastern Drome region, he had thought about throwing an egg or a cream tart at the president, the news channel reported.

“I think that Macron represents very neatly the decay of our country,” he told the court according to BFM TV. “If I had challenged Macron to a duel at sunrise, I doubt he would have responded.”

Macron later described the attack as an isolated incident and said violence and hate were a threat to democracy.

Read More: Watch the Moment President Macron Was Slapped During Crowd Walkabout (Video)https://agnesisika.com/watch-the-moment-president-macron-was-slapped-during-crowd-walkabout-video/

Tarel faced a charge of assault against a public official, an offence which carries a maximum sentence of three years in jail and a 45,000 euro fine. The prosecuting counsel Alex Perrin called for an 18-month prison term after describing the slap as ‘unacceptable’ and ‘an act of deliberate violence but 14mths was later removed thereby reducing the jail term to 4 months.

He slapped Macron on Tuesday after the president came over to shake a small crowd of onlookers after visiting a professional training college. Macron tries to hit back at Tarel who was standing behind a security barrier, Tarel then shouted “Down with Macronia” (“A Bas La Macronie”wink.
Tarel was arrested along with a second man from his hometown of Saint-Vallier. He will not face any charges related to the slapping but by 2022, he will be prosecuted for illegal possession of arms.

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