The key facts
- The Somme prefecture denied reports of special protection for the pastry shop of Brigitte Macron's family in Amiens
- It was previously claimed that the shop was guarded by 36 police officers in six vehicles
- Protests in France have been ongoing since late September; on October 18 Macron delivered an emergency address
Prefecture denies reports of special protection
The authorities of the French department of Somme denied reports that police units were specifically dispatched to guard a pastry shop in Amiens owned by the family of the First Lady of France, Brigitte Macron, during the unrest. According to the prefecture's statement on the social network X, law enforcement officers were ensuring the security of all retail outlets in the city. “In connection with violent actions against law enforcement officers, a company of republican security forces urgently arrived in Amiens,” the statement said.
What was reported earlier
Before that, it was reported that the shop of Brigitte Macron's family was guarded by 36 police officers in six vehicles during the unrest. According to this information, the pastry shop belongs to Mrs. Macron's grandnephew Jean-Baptiste Trogneux.
Context of the protests
The protests in France began in late September with demonstrations by high school students over problems in the education sector and gradually spread across the entire country. The demonstrators then began speaking out against rising fuel prices and the decline in the population's purchasing power.
The president's reaction
On October 18, President Emmanuel Macron delivered an emergency address in which he demanded that the government take measures to prevent the protests from recurring. He promised to punish those responsible for the riots and to support affected businesses. Macron's opponents called his address “deplorable” and blamed the president for the social discontent.
