Two soldiers from the Elysee Palace honor guard collapsed one after the other on Wednesday in Paris, during the welcome ceremony French President Emmanuel Macron held for Slovak President Peter Pellegrini.
Elysee Palace Welcome Ceremony
Two Guards Collapse at Macron's Ceremony
One soldier lost his balance, dropped his ceremonial sword and fell backward down the steps of the Elysee Palace, and a second collapsed minutes later as the visit continued.
Footage filmed at the scene shows one of the soldiers standing beside Macron when he suddenly begins to lose his balance. He sways, lowers his ceremonial sword, drops it, and finally falls backward onto the palace steps.
Macron, who saw the incident, rushed toward the fallen soldier together with several staff members to help him. Palace personnel carried the soldier away while the welcome ceremony continued.
A short time later, after Macron had already greeted the Slovak president, a second honor guard soldier collapsed. That incident took place out of the camera's view. However, the sound of another sword hitting the ground can be clearly heard in the footage, and Macron can be seen reacting.
According to reports in the French media, both soldiers were taken away from the ceremony area. At the time of those reports, no information had been released on what caused them to collapse or on their medical condition.
The welcome ceremony went ahead despite the incidents, and the two presidents held their meeting afterward. Pellegrini was in France on an official visit that also included taking part in the Paris Peace Forum.
Swords hit the ground: two soldiers collapsed one after the other in front of the French president| צילום: Photo: Social media
