Emmanuel Macron sent 'human finger' in the post sparking police investigation
Macron banned fireworks ahead of Bastille Day fearing rioters would use them as weapons
Reuters
Emmanuel Macron received a human finger in the post, which has been confirmed to have come from a living person.
Paris prosecutors opened an investigation on Monday after an amputated finger was sent first class to Élysée Palace, the official residence of the French president.
The capital’s public prosecution office, Parquet de Paris, have since confirmed the probe to the French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP).
A source close to the President’s office disclosed that the package arrived in the post sometime between Sunday and Monday.
Macron reviews the troops during the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, France, on July 14.
Reuters
They said: “The finger was initially put in a fridge where the police put their snacks.
“This was to make sure it was preserved and could be analysed as quickly as possible.”
The insider said that tests had identified the digit as belonging to a ‘living human’.
They added: “It’s not at all clear why this finger was sent to the president.”
A firefighter lost his life tackling a blaze in an underground car park started by rioters
ReutersAccording to the insider, the sender has been identified, contacted and “given full medical support”.
Due to medical confidentiality, the person cannot be identified though it has been alleged that they are experiencing a mental health condition.
While French heads of state have been sent bullets and other sinister items in the past, this is the first package to be received that contains a body part.
Where no note or message was included in the macabre parcel, the insider added: “It’s not at all clear why this finger was sent to the president.”
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The moment Nael was shot by police officers
ReutersThe Banshees of Inisherin-esque gory ordeal comes amid widespread protest against and disillusion with the French government.
Though there has been a comparative lull in vocal discontent and violence, tensions are expected to flare once more during the Bastille Celebration in Paris on 14 July.
In a bid to curtail the violence, Macron banned the sale of fireworks ahead of Bastille Day.
France has experienced widespread civil unrest and rioting since the police shooting of a French-Algerian teenager who refused to halt at a traffic stop.
In a video that circulated online, two police officers could be seen at the window of a bright yellow Mercedes AMG, which officials say had been hired by the victim and was driving erratically.
Riots erupted across France this past monthReutersIn the video, later verified by AFP, one of the officers points a gun through the driver’s window and as the car starts moving a gunshot can be heard.
The victim, named locally as delivery driver, Nael M, died of bullet wounds to the chest after being shot in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.
According to the newspaper Le Monde, the police had initially professed that the teenager drove towards the officers with the intention of inflicting harm, though the viral video undermines this account.
Spurred by the initial shooting and exacerbated by the latter excuses, Parisians have taken to the streets in a show of anger and solidarity.
This comes after rolling strikes and protests, some of them violent, over the raising of the retirement age from 62 to 64.