A Frenchman, Damien Tarel, 28, has been sentenced to four months in jail for slapping his president, Emmanuel Macron.

Tarel attacked Macron when the French president was shaking hands with members of the public during a trip in France’s Drome region.

Tarel said that several days ahead of Macron’s visit to the region, he had thought about throwing an egg or a cream tart at the president. However, he said, slapping Macron slap was not premeditated.

“I think that Macron represents very neatly the decay of our country,” he told the court, according to BFM TV.

“If I had challenged Macron to a duel at sunrise, I doubt he would have responded.”

He added that he was angered by Macron’s “friendly” looks.