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Three face trial in France over assault of Brigitte Macron’s great-nephew

Three men are to be tried for allegedly beating up the great-nephew of French 'first lady' Brigitte Macron outside her family's chocolate shop in northern France, with a 16-year-old also facing prosecution.

Three face trial in France over assault of Brigitte Macron's great-nephew
The Jean Trogneux chocolate shop in Amiens, northern France, which is owned by the family of Brigitte Macron. Photo by DENIS CHARLET / AFP

The three adults were presented in court on Wednesday in the city of Amiens on assault charges, but their lawyers requested a delay to proceedings until June 5th, an AFP reporter witnessed.

The teenage suspect is set to go before a special children’s judge over the attack late on Monday by anti-government protesters on Jean-Baptiste Trogneux.

The incident has been widely condemned by French politicians, including President Emmanuel Macron who called it “unacceptable” while pointing the finger at his opponents whose “verbal violence” he suggested had encouraged the assault.

Increasingly fierce clashes during protests against Macron and attacks on the offices of local and national elected figures have sparked fresh debate about the political climate in France.

The country has been rocked by its biggest demonstrations in decades since the start of the year over Macron’s plans to raise the retirement age to 64 from 62.

Hard-left MP François Ruffin, one of the harshest critics of the president, said on Wednesday that Macron was partly to blame for the violence directed at politicians.

“It’s obvious that Emmanuel Macron has a responsibility because we have a social, political and democratic crisis and his only response is via the police,” Ruffin told the France 2 television channel.

The three adult suspects, aged 20-34, have been detained awaiting trial.

They are known to the police for previous assaults and violence, with the youngest living with a mental disability and the eldest living under the control of a legal guardian.

Four other people arrested after the attack have been released by police.

Brigitte Macron’s family have run the Jean Trogneux chocolate shop in the centre of her home city of Amiens for six generations.

Her great-nephew was returning to his apartment above the store when he was recognised by the protesters, who left him with several broken ribs, a head injury and a hand wound, according to his father.

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CRIME

Teens charged in France over plot to attack Jewish targets: judicial source

French prosecutors have charged a 19-year-old man and a youth in the Paris region with planning a "terrorist" attack on Jewish targets, a judicial source told AFP on Friday.

Teens charged in France over plot to attack Jewish targets: judicial source

While no details on the pair have been released, French anti-terrorist investigators have expressed increased concern over the young age of some suspects detained in recent months for planning militant attacks.

The 19-year-old has been charged with “terrorist conspiracy” to commit attacks and the “acquisition and possession of arms for a terrorist enterprise,” said the judicial source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

READ ALSO: Anti-Semitism fears stalk Jewish voters’ choice in France

The youth aged under 18 was detained on June 13, the source said.

The pair made contact on social media and were planning a “a violent action notably aiming at Jewish targets,” said the source without giving details on the plot.

Anti-terrorism investigators say a growing number of youths have been held in recent months for preparing attacks.

READ ALSO: French election breakdown: TV debates, polling latest and anti-Semitism

“This is a necessarily worrying phenomenon,” senior anti-terrorist prosecutor Olivier Christen said at an evidentiary hearing on Wednesday.

French politicians have also condemned a growing number of attacks on the country’s Jewish community, the biggest outside Israel and the United States.

Outrage has been expressed over the rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl in a park in the Paris suburbs last Saturday. Two 13-year-old boys have been charged with rape and making anti-Semitic insults.

Several protest rallies have been held in Paris and other French cities over the case which comes as France prepares for a national election in which the far-right National Rally party is tipped to make major gains. 

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