French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday called an assault on a great-nephew of his wife Brigitte Macron "unacceptable" and "unspeakable."

"He was assaulted because he is our great-nephew," Macron said of Jean-Baptiste Trogneux, 30, who was beaten up by anti-government protesters late Monday outside a chocolate shop he runs in northern France.

"I consider these acts as absolutely unacceptable and as president of France they are unspeakable," he said, adding that he expected justice to run its course in the matter. Macron spoke as he arrived for a Council of Europe summit in Iceland.

Trogneux was returning to his apartment on Monday evening above the famed Trogneux chocolate shop that he runs in Amiens in northern France when he was set upon by anti-government protesters.

The 30-year-old was hit on the head, arms and legs by his aggressors, who insulted "the president, his wife and our family" before running away, the victim's father, Jean-Alexandre Trogneux, told AFP on Tuesday.

"They've crossed the line. I'm flabbergasted," Trogneux added, saying his son was being checked by a doctor and was awaiting the results of a scan.

Brigitte Macron issued a rare statement condemning the "cowardice, stupidity and violence" of the attack.

"I am in complete solidarity with my family and have been in touch constantly since 11 pm yesterday," she added.

"I have on several occasions denounced this kind of violence that can only lead to the worst."

Local police said they had arrested eight people after the attack, which took place shortly after President Emmanuel Macron appeared on the country's main television news program at 8:00 p.m. on Monday evening.

Brigitte Macron's family has run the Jean Trogneux chocolate shop in the center of her home city of Amiens for six generations, specializing in a sugary local almond-based treat known as the Amiens Macaron.

She met her husband while he was a pupil and she was a teacher at a private school in the city in the 1990s.

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• Paris
• Politics
• Emmanuel Macron
• France