The great-nephew of French president's wife Brigitte Macron, Jean-Baptiste Trogneux, has been beaten up near his family's chocolate shop in the French city of Amiens following a TV address by the president, French media reported on Tuesday
PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th May, 2023) The great-nephew of French president's wife Brigitte Macron, Jean-Baptiste Trogneux, has been beaten up near his family's chocolate shop in the French city of Amiens following a tv address by the president, French media reported on Tuesday.
Trogneux was allegedly attacked by 10 anti-government protesters overnight into Tuesday, just outside the Jean Trogneux chocolate shop, which had repeatedly been targeted by demonstrators protesting again President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform, French newspaper Courrier picard reported.
"It was 10 p.m. Jean-Baptiste was returning to the chocolate shop (to his apartment above the shop's premises) when he was attacked. They punched and kicked him. He curled up into a ball to protect himself, but he still got bruises on his head, his face, on his knee and finger," the newspaper quoted the victim's father, Jean-Alexandre Trogneux, as saying.
Trogneux senior added that he had feared for months that the protesters would attack his family, given that during the most recent protest actions in the city, demonstrators tried multiple times to come up close to the shop, which had to be guarded by the police.
"Let them leave us alone. The chocolate shop is not engaged in politics; we have nothing to do with the current economic and social policies of the country. Emmanuel Macron does not participate in our business in any way. I don't understand all those people who try to harm us. Some of them even urged others to boycott our shops and our products. They mix the things up all in one!" he said as quoted by the newspaper.
Brigitte Macron also condemned the attack on her relative.
"I totally stand together with my family, and I have been in contact with them since 11 p.m. of yesterday night, with Jean-Baptiste, with Jean-Alexandre ... I have repeatedly condemned such acts of violence, which could only lead to even worse consequences," she told reporters.
Trogneux junior filed a report with the local police, Courrier picard said, adding that eight people were arrested with relation to the incident due to CCTV cameras.
On Monday night, during an interview with French broadcaster TF1, Macron announced new arms shipments to Ukraine and his plans to cut taxes by 2 billion Euros ($2.17 billion), and expressed hope the protests would dwindle.
On April 14, the French Constitutional Council approved the key article of the pension reform bill, which would gradually raise the age of retirement in France from 62 to 64 by 2030. The reform sparked a strong backlash, prompting people to take to the streets across the country.