Damien Tarel, the man accused of slapping French President Emmanuel Macron in the face, is allegedly a medieval Live Action Roleplay (LARP) geek who possessed reproduction weapons, roleplaying games, and a Soviet Union flag.
Tarel has been named in news reports as the man who was caught on camera shouting “Down with Macron-ism!” and slapping Macron in the face on Tuesday as the president visited Drome.
Tarel was soon tackled and arrested, along with his friend ‘Arthur C.’, with police subsequently searching both of their homes in the area.
According to La Parisien, which cited unnamed sources, police allegedly found “many role-playing books, combat simulations, works on the Middle Ages and even a Soviet flag” in Tarel’s property, as well as reproduction weapons used for roleplaying, with La Parisien’s source calling Tarel’s ideological beliefs “ideological mush.”
The source also told La Parisien that Tarel lives at home with his mother “in a kind of parallel world made of role-playing games, simulations of medieval fights,” and he is allegedly unemployed.
Tarel’s Instagram account reinforces his interest in medieval roleplaying, with photos showing the man dressed in period clothes and armor while holding swords and shields.
Tarel’s friend, who has only been identified as ‘Arthur C.’, also had his home searched following the incident on Tuesday. Police allegedly found a legally possessed rifle and a copy of Adolf Hitler’s book ‘Mein Kampf’.
Macron, as well as most French politicians, condemned the “isolated incident” on Tuesday, declaring, “We must not let ultra-violent people take over the public debate. They do not serve it.”
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