Macron's blunt response sparks fresh anger

France's opposition yesterday lashed out at Emmanuel Macron over his response to revelations that his top security aide roughed up protesters, accusing the president of badly mishandling the worst scandal since he took office.

After days of silence, Macron finally spoke out late Tuesday over the debacle surrounding disgraced ex-bodyguard Alexandre Benalla, who faces criminal charges after he was filmed scuffling with May Day protesters in Paris while wearing a police helmet.

"What happened on May 1 is terrible, serious, and for me it was a disappointment and a betrayal," Macron told lawmakers from his majority Republic on the Move (LREM) party.

"The only person responsible for this affair is me," he said, in an angry intervention that appeared to take aim at parliament's grilling of his top aides as well as press coverage of the affair.

"If they're looking for someone to hold responsible, he's right in front of you. They can come and get me."

Many politicians blasted Macron's apparent criticism of parliamentary interrogation of his staff, with far-left MP Alexis Corbiere accusing him of "swaggering" and Gerard Larcher of the rightwing Republicans describing the response as one of "amateurism and panic".