PARIS (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron, trying to curb the most damaging scandal of his presidency so far, on Friday fired a top security aide who has been taken into custody after videos emerged showing him strike a young man during a demonstration in Paris in May.
The Elysee Palace said that Alexandre Benalla, 26, would be dismissed after ‘‘new elements’’ emerged in the case, namely that he is suspected of unlawfully receiving police surveillance footage in a bid to clear his name.
A source close to the inquiry said that three police officers, including two high-ranking officials, have been suspended on suspicion of providing the footage to Benalla.
He is facing charges of violence by a public official, impersonating a police officer and complicity in unauthorised use of surveillance footage, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
Opposition lawmakers blocked proceedings in parliament on Friday to demand explanations, with some saying Interior Minister Gerard Collomb’s job is on the line after press reports said he knew about Benalla’s violence.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe stepped in calling on lawmakers to be ‘‘responsible’’ and end the ‘‘parliamentary obstruction.’’
