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Hollande’s bodyguards forget guns on Rio trip

Clea Caulcutt
Clea Caulcutt - [email protected]
Hollande’s bodyguards forget guns on Rio trip

French President François Hollande’s absent-minded bodyguards left their charge with less protection than usual on his recent trip to a climate conference in Brazil after leaving their guns in France.

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The presidential bodyguards realised they had forgotten their guns on arrival at Rio de Janeiro Airport, French satirical Le Canard Enchainé revealed. 

The elite GSPR unit which protects the French president normally travels with a secured briefcase that contains a set of guns. But when they sought to present the weapons to customs officials, they couldn’t find them. It turned out they had left them at the Elysée Palace in Paris. 

The bodyguard in charge of the weapons was fired from the unit because he reportedly tried to blame the neglect on somebody else.

Le Canard Enchainé reports that Hollande’s protection during the climate conference in Brazil was "bare-handed". 

While Hollande enjoyed minimal protection in Brazil, former president Nicolas Sarkozy was being royally protected. French weekly Paris Match reports he has been allocated 10 police officers to provide security for him.

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