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A relative of French first lady Brigitte Macron was beaten outside her family’s chocolate shop on Tuesday in an apparently politically motivated attack that drew widespread condemnation.
Jean-Baptiste Trogneux was attacked on Monday night as he was returning to his apartment above the famous Trogneux chocolate shop in Amiens, northern France.
The victim’s father, Jean-Alexandre Trogneux, told AFP on Tuesday that the 30-year-old was surrounded by anti-government protesters who insulted “the president, His wife and our family.”
“They crossed the line. I was taken aback,” said Trogneux, who later told BFM channel his son had several broken ribs, a head injury and a hand injury.
Brigitte Macron issued a rare statement condemning the attack as “cowardly, stupid and violent”, while President Emmanuel Macron said as he arrived in Iceland for a European conference This is “unacceptable”.
“I fully support my family, who have been in touch since 11pm last night,” Brigitte Macron added.
Local police said they had arrested eight people in connection with the attack, which followed Monday night’s protests in the city center during President Emmanuel Macron’s televised interview.
Brigitte Macron’s family has run the Jean Trogneux chocolate shop in the center of her hometown of Amiens for six generations, specializing in a local almond chocolate called the Amiens macaron.
The business has been targeted by protesters during Macron’s six years in power amid rumors that the first family has financial interests – claims that have been repeatedly denied.
Politicians from all sides expressed condolences to the 70-year-old former schoolteacher first lady and condemned the attack.
“It’s an act of cowardice to attack a politician’s great-nephew,” said Alexis Corbiere, a hard-left lawmaker who has often criticized Macron’s policies.
lawmakers targeted
The 45-year-old head of state this year sparked the biggest demonstrations in a generation over pension system reform, which includes raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 later this year.
Multiple clashes during the protests, as well as attacks on the offices of local and national elected figures, have sparked debate over whether the country is facing a surge in far-right and far-left political violence.
The mayor of a village in western France caused a stir last week by announcing his resignation after his home was attacked by a suspected arsonist.
Yannick Morez, from the village of Saint Brevin, has been repeatedly targeted by far-right activists for his support of the local refugee centre.
In his comments in Iceland, Macron urged other politicians, including those who have sought to justify vandalism during recent protests, to restrain their language as a legitimate expression of public anger over his pension reform.
“Violence of any kind is unjustified because verbal violence leads to physical violence and violence against objects leads to violence against people,” he said in Reykjavik.
In 2020, he and his wife of 70 were shocked when they were surrounded and abused by so-called “yellow vest” protesters while walking in the Tuileries Garden in central Paris.
Statistics from the Ministry of the Interior show that in 2022, when the country holds parliamentary and presidential elections, there will be a 32% year-on-year increase in reported physical or verbal violence against lawmakers.
“resist”
The Trogneux chocolate business expanded extensively from its base in Amiens, a former industrial city where Brigitte met her future husband in the 1990s, when he was a schoolboy and she was teaching He plays.
“This store is not about politics,” Jean-Alexandre Trogneux, the father of the man who was beaten, told local newspaper Courrier Picard on Tuesday. “Emmanuel Macron has nothing to do with our business.
“I don’t understand all these people who continue to harass us. Some of them even called for a boycott of our stores and products. They’ve got everything mixed up.”
He said stores were routinely vandalized, salespeople insulted and death threats received in the mail.
“We were close to the worst last night,” he told BFM, adding that a neighbor came to the street to confront the attacker and protect his son.
“He (the neighbor) told me, ‘I’ve never seen such hatred in people’s eyes. I thought they were going to kill him’,” he added.
(AFP)