opening of the appeal trial of Alexandre Benalla

The trial of Alexandre Benalla before the Paris Court of Appeal opened on Friday morning, June 9, five years after the violence during a demonstration on May 1 in Paris which had earned the ex-relative collaborator of Emmanuel Macron to be sentenced in 2021 to one year in prison at first instance. The trial is due to last until June 16.

The former project manager, prosecuted for violence in meetings, must also answer in particular for the prohibited carrying of a weapon (due to the publication of a photo of him carrying a handgun) and the use of forged writing. (for continuing to travel with diplomatic passports after his dismissal from the Elysée).

Converted to private

Dressed in a gray suit, short beard and square glasses, the 31-year-old man, now converted into the private sector, took his place on the bench of the defendants. He explained to the president of the court that he would agree to speak during the trial, just like his co-defendant Vincent Crase, 50.

The latter’s lawyer, Robin Binsard, must file a priority question of constitutionality (QPC) at the start of the hearing, relating to the offense of interference in a public office for which the two men are accused.

Pillar of candidate Emmanuel Macron’s security system in 2017 and then of the Elysée, Alexandre Benalla had been at the heart of a political scandal with twists and turns from July 18, 2018, with the publication of an article by World. He had been identified on a video where he brutalized a couple on Place de la Contrescarpe, in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, while he was participating in the police force as an observer.