Ex-Macron aide shows off with gun amid president's campaign

A French investigative website has published photos of a former security aide of President Emmanuel Macron posing with a gun in a fun photo with a waitress during a campaign stop weeks ahead of the May 2017 election — without any known authorization to be armed.

Alexandre Benalla, 27, was identified in July in an online video as the man seen beating a protester during May Day protests, which triggered Macron's biggest crisis as president. Benalla was subsequently fired and he is facing preliminary charges for violence.

Late Monday, Mediapart published a photo of Benalla and two other security guards posing with a waitress. Benalla is seen holding a gun.

Benalla told the newspaper Le Monde in July that he wasn't armed during the presidential campaign.