The victim of a highly publicized assault by a French presidential aide during a May 1 demonstration in the French capital is said to be a Greek national.
A report in the French magazine Closer claims that the protester who was assaulted by Alexandre Benalla, an assistant to French President Emmanuel Macron’s chief of staff, was arrested and was questioned for four hours.
Closer reports that he gave a false identity, giving the name of a Greek basketball player before he was released.
Greek diplomatic sources in France have yet to confirm the report.
Benalla, who disguised himself by wearing a helmet, appears in a video of the incident that took place in a popular tourist spot at Place de la Contrescarpe in the fifth district of Paris, where about 100 people had gathered on 1 May.
He is seen attacking the protester who had been carried a short distance by police before being left alone on the ground.
Benalla can be seen grabbing the young protester around the neck, hitting him in the head and apparently stamping on his stomach when he falls to the ground.
Offcials in Paris say that Benalla, whose main duty was to arrange security for the president’s engagements, is to be dismissed.
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