The great-nephew of French First Lady Brigitte Macron, who runs the family's main chocolate shop, has been beaten up in an apparent politically motivated assault, police and family sources said on May 16, Report informs referring to AFP.
Jean-Baptiste Trogneux was set upon by anti-government protesters on Monday evening outside the famed Trogneux chocolate shop in Amiens, northern France, his father told AFP.
The 30-year-old was hit on the head, arms and legs by his aggressors, who insulted "the president, his wife and our family" before running away, Jean-Alexandre Trogneux said.
"They've crossed the line. I'm flabbergasted," he added, saying his son was being checked by a doctor and was awaiting the results of a scan.
Local police said they had arrested eight people after the attack, which took place shortly after President Macron had appeared for an interview on the country's main TV news program at 8:00 pm (18:00 GMT) on May 15 evening.
Brigitte Macron's family have run the Jean Trogneux chocolate shop in the center of her home city of Amiens for six generations, specializing in a sugary local almond-based treat known as the Amiens Macaron.
She met her husband while he was a pupil and she was a teacher at a private school in the city in the 1990s.
The Trogneux family business, which has since expanded around northern France, has been repeatedly targeted by protesters during Macron's six years in power amid rumors -- repeatedly denied -- that the first family have a financial interest in the company.
Macron has sparked the biggest demonstrations in a generation over reforms to the pension system, which include raising the retirement age to rise to 64 from 62 later this year.