French President Emmanuel Macron was struck by an egg while attending an event in Lyon on Monday.
French publication Lyon Mag posted a video of the incident, which occurred at the SIRHA food and hospitality fair, on its Twitter page. In the end, however, the yolk was on the assailant, as the clip showed the egg bounce off Macron’s shoulder without cracking. The culprit was subsequently detained by authorities.
The egg “bounced off Macron’s shoulder and burst on the floor right in front of me,” Florence Lago, a journalist with Lyon Mag, told CNN.
BYSTANDER SLAPS FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON
Au #sirha2021, @EmmanuelMacron victime d’un jet d’oeuf. Le projectile a rebondi sur l’épaule du Président de la République. Le jeune homme a été interpellé par le service d’ordre – IMAGES LYONMAG pic.twitter.com/n10POB2MEn
— Lyon Mag (@lyonmag) September 27, 2021
The intent behind the egg throw was not immediately clear. Lago said she saw a man throw the egg but did not hear him say any words or shout. Security officers escorted the man away from the premises, Lago added.
A spokesperson for the Elysée Palace told CNN the incident was overblown, saying, “There is no story.”
“The President walked around for two hours, he was warmly welcomed and everything was calm. There is nothing to say about it because it did not disrupt his walking around,” added the spokesperson, who claimed to have been with Macron.
Macron is no stranger to physical attacks by angry protesters at public gatherings. In 2017, he was struck by an egg that cracked on his head.
In June, a bystander slapped the French leader in the face as he shook hands with crowd members in the Drome region of southeastern France.
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France‘s presidential election is less than a year away, and Macron has been closely monitoring his approval after his party performed poorly in regional elections in June. Political experts have said that the low voter turnout in the elections this summer makes it hard to determine whether Macron will face a significant challenge for reelection.
