Fruity near-miss for France's Macron, targeted by tomatoes

Newly reelected French President Emmanuel Macron has narrowly avoided being pelted by what looked like cherry tomatoes as he waded through a boisterous and packed crowd

Newly reelected French President Emmanuel Macron narrowly avoided being pelted by what looked like a small sackful of cherry tomatoes Wednesday as he waded through a boisterous and packed crowd in a market northwest of Paris.

About six of the small fruits, some orange, some red, contained in what looked like a blue plastic bag, flew over the head of the French leader and bounced off the shoulder and arm of two men beside him, according to broadcaster BFM-TV's video.

Macron himself seemed oblivious of the near-miss until someone in the crowd shouted “projectile” and bodyguards raised arms over the French leader's head to cover him.

Someone then unfurled a black umbrella to shield him, and his security detail steered him to cover under a nearby market-stall parasol. The president sheltered there for a few moments until things calmed down.

Macron, ostensibly unharmed and unperturbed, then happily continued his walkabout in Cergy-Pontoise, mingling and talking to people at the market. He told reporters he visited the working-class neighborhood as part of his previously stated pledge to unite France after the bruising presidential campaign.

Macron, 44, comfortably beat far-right rival Marine Le Pen in the election runoff on Sunday.