Former Macron Bodyguard Benalla Drops Out of 2020 Municipal Election Race

"I will not be a candidate," said Alexandre Benalla, to the Journal du dimanche. Apparently, the former bodyguard has finally turned his back on his ambition. According to him, this renunciation is explained by the birth of his second child and the development of his business in the fields of economic intelligence and risk management.

Last October, everything seemed to indicate that he was going to enter politics, and even that he was aiming to run in the next municipal elections. The messages or photos of Alexandre Benalla on Twitter, notably the one in which he was seen wearing the tricolor scarf of a mayor, tended to confirm this ambition. Moreover, he multiplied his visits to Saint-Denis. When a citizen attacked him on November 13, the former bodyguard of President Emmanuel Macron had written on Twitter: "this city really needs order, and we will put it in place".

Finally, he renounces to run for the mayor’s office. His wish, he will say, is to "step back more from the public sphere". Alexandre Benalla is still the subject of investigations for interference in the exercise of a public function, voluntary violence in a group, and unauthorized possession and carrying of weapons.