Emmanuel Macron was sent a piece of a severed finger in the post, prosecutors in Paris have said. The digit is believed to belong to the person who posted it to the Élysée Palace, the French president’s official residence.
The package contained “a piece of a finger, a fingertip it seems,” the prosecutor’s office said. Police have opened an investigation for “threat of a crime […] against an elected official”.
A letter was sent with the fingertip. It was signed by the author, who was reported to have psychiatric problems.
The morbid discovery was made by Élysée staff, who alerted the police. The finger was put in a fridge until officers collected it overnight last Sunday.
The Élysée has refused to comment on the incident, according to reports in the French press, and the owner of the finger will not be identified for reasons of medical confidentiality.
Preserved And Analysed
“The finger was initially put in a fridge where the police put their snacks,” said a source at the palace.
“This was to make sure it was preserved and could be analysed as quickly as possible,” the insider said before adding the person who sent it was being given medical support.
“It’s not at all clear why this finger was sent to the president,” the source said.
While things like bullets have been sent to the French president before, this is believed to be the first time the head of state has been sent a human body part in the post.
Between 1,000 and 1,500 letters and emails are sent to Mr Macron every day.
More Disturbances Expected
They are read by a team of 70 employees. Mr Macron is said to take an interest in the correspondence, which he sees as a cross-section of public opinion.
He sometimes responds personally to certain messages.
Mr Macron has faced public anger for his attempts to reform the French pension system. More recently there were days of riots after police shot dead a teenager of North African heritage in a Parisian suburb.
More disturbances are expected on Friday when Mr Macron leads the Bastille Day celebrations in Paris.
