PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron denounced "violence" and "stupidity" after he was slapped in the face Tuesday by a man during a visit to a small town in southeastern France.
The incident prompted a wide show of support for the head of state from politicians across the ideological spectrum.
A video shows a man slapping Macron in the face and the president's bodyguards pushing the aggressor away as the head of state was quickly rushed from the scene in the town of Tain-l'Hermitage.
The man appears to have cried out "Montjoie! Saint Denis!" a centuries-old royalist war cry, before finishing with "A bas la Macronie," or "Down with Macron."
A French prosecutor said two people are being detained by police.
In an interview with the local newspaper Le Dauphine Libere, Macron described the incident as an “isolated act," the Associated Press reported.
According to the AP, a bodyguard was standing right behind Macron but was unable to get to the man before Macron was slapped, but he placed his arm around the president to protect him.
As the aggressor’s right hand connected, Macron was able to turn his face away.
Their motives are not known at this stage.
