The hour of judgment has struck. Yesterday, the former associate of the 30-year-old president, was sentenced to prison for acts of violence committed in 2018 in Paris.
The verdict has been rendered: Alexandre Benalla has been found guilty of “violence in assembly” and “meddling in police duties.” He was also charged with the fabrication and use of false diplomatic passports and illegal possession of a weapon by the Paris Tribunal.
He was sentenced to three years of prison, with one year to be served under electronic surveillance. Additionally, he is prohibited from holding public office for 5 years, from owning a weapon for 10 years, and was fined €500.
“a sense of impunity and omnipotence”
The sentence goes beyond the penalty requested by the prosecutor’s office in September, which had sought an 18-month suspended sentence.
During the hearing, the former special aide to the Élysée displayed an attitude of “insufferability and a sense of impunity and omnipotence,” the Palais de Justice noted.
“You were entrusted with a certain power, real because of your position, assumed due to your proximity to the President of the Republic. You betrayed the trust placed in you with this appointment,” lamented Isabelle Prévost-Desprez, the tribunal’s president.
As a reminder, the accused faced trial for events that occurred on May 1, 2018. The former presidential associate struck protesters in Paris’s Place de la Contrescarpe. On that day, he wore an orange police armband, although he was not part of the police force.
A decision to appeal
On the defendants’ bench alongside Alexandre Benalla, Vincent Crase, and two police officers, Maxence Creusatt and Laurent Simonin, were also sentenced. However, they received suspended sentences.
Alexandre Benalla has announced his intention to appeal. His lawyer describes the judgment as “unprecedentedly severe.”
The former presidential associate is still under three preliminary investigations.
