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| Alexandre Benalla le 19 septembre 2018 à Paris (AFP Photo/Bertrand GUAY) |
Paris (AFP)
- A former top security aide to French President Emmanuel Macron who caused a
political storm after it emerged he had roughed up protesters at a May Day
demonstration is facing further charges over the affair.
Ex-bodyguard
Alexandre Benalla, 26, is already facing two criminal charges after videos
emerged of him manhandling demonstrators on May 1 in Paris while wearing a
police helmet and armband.
A source
told AFP Sunday that he was charged on November 29 with two more offences over
events earlier during the protest in which he allegedly participated
"actively in the questioning" of a man.
Benalla is
accused of "interference in the exercise of a public function" and
"deliberate violence", according to the source.
Revelations
that top officials in Macron's office knew about the incidents but did not
report Benalla to prosecutors earlier prompted accusations of an attempted
cover-up, which the government denied.
Instead,
Benalla was given a two-week suspension days after the incident and removed
from organising the president's security during his trips.
He was not
sacked or charged until the scandal broke in July amid reports he enjoyed perks
unusual for someone of his rank.
Benalla
later defended his actions during the protest, saying through his lawyer that
he was "lending a hand".
Questioned
by three judges in court on November 29, he again defended his actions saying
he "helped the police to question a violent delinquent who had just
committed a serious offence against police".
He was
previously charged with assault, impersonating a police officer and illegally
receiving police surveillance footage in a bid to claim his actions were
justified.
Vincent
Crase, an associate and security agent employed by Macron's Republic on the
Move (LREM) party who was also at the scene, has also been charged, as have
three police officers.
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