Man who threw egg at French President Macron to undergo psychiatric treatment

Paris - It bounced off his shoulder without breaking

A 19-year-old student who threw an egg at French President Emmanuel Macron has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital after a medical exam, prosecutors said Tuesday.

The egg hit Macron on the shoulder as he milled with a crowd at an international food fair in Lyon on Monday. It bounced off without breaking.

The man was detained, and an investigation was opened for “assault on a person in a position of public authority,” Lyon prosecutors said. He wasn’t previously known to police.

The student underwent a psychiatric evaluation which determined an “absence of discernment and need for hospitalisation,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement Tuesday.

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Macron was slapped in the face during a similar crowd event in June. Like other French presidents, he enjoys spending time meeting with the public, especially as campaigning heats up for France’s presidential election in April.

Macron hasn’t yet announced his candidacy but is expected to do so.

• Europe