Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
More of a scare than serious consequences. On Wednesday 11 November, two Republican Guard members fainted while on the Élysée Palace forecourt beside Emmanuel Macron, who was preparing to welcome Slovak president Peter Pellegrini.
In footage shot by Reuters, the president appears at the top of the Élysée steps, surrounded – as protocol dictates – by several guards of honour.
As the music announcing Peter Pellegrini’s car entering the courtyard begins, one of the soldiers seems at first to lose his balance, causing the sword he is holding out in his arm to wobble. A few seconds later, the guard collapses to the ground, hitting the pillar behind him.
Alerted by the noise, Emmanuel Macron and several people nearby rush towards the man, who is still on the ground. The guard is then taken away. Shortly afterwards, a second guard also faints, this time out of the cameras’ view.
A source at the Élysée sought to reassure about the guards’ health: “They had vasovagal episodes and were assisted immediately. They were not injured and are fine.”
The episode prompted a reaction from Bally Bagayoko. On X, the mayor of Saint-Denis sent a “special thought” to the two men, recalling that “behind the uniform there is a man, a soldier carrying out his mission in service to the Republic”.
