Eight people were arrested yesterday, on Monday, in the evening France for attacking the great-nephew of the first lady of France, Brigitte Macron, in an incident that took place on the sidelines of a demonstration against pension reform, said a police source and the father of the man who was attacked.

According to a police source, the detainees are still in custody.

According to Jean-Alexandre Tronier, the victim’s father, the attackers were six men and two women.

He said his son, Jean-Baptiste Tronier, 30, was identified and targeted by a group participating in a demonstration during which protesters smashed pots and pans. Demonstrations of this kind have been going on for weeks to protest the government’s approval of pension reform without a vote in parliament.

The incident took place in the center of Amiens in northern France following a TV interview Macron gave last night.

The assailants beat him on the head, arms and legs, cursing “the president, his wife and our family” before fleeing when three bystanders intervened, his father told AFP.

With this act of aggression, “I’m afraid we’ve crossed a line,” commented the victim’s father. He lamented that while there is “no economic connection” between the Tronier chocolate factory and the presidential couple, its premises have been regularly attacked on the sidelines of protests since Macron came to power.

Brigitte Macron expressed outrage at the “cowardice, stupidity and violence” of the attackers. The attack was condemned by members of parliament from right and left parties.

“I am in full solidarity with my family,” she said in a statement sent to AFP. “I have repeatedly condemned this kind of violence, which can only lead to the worst,” added the wife of President Emmanuel Macron.

“Jean-Baptiste had the courage to stand up to the cowardice, stupidity and violence of a group that I allowed justice to characterize,” he added.

Source: APE-MPE, AFP.