Mr. Benalla and a colleague were charged with assault on Sunday. He has been fired from his job at the Élysée, the presidential palace, where he had an office. But especially given that Mr. Macron and his associates were aware of Mr. Benalla’s violent behavior immediately, the questions have not gone away:

Why was Mr. Benalla allowed to keep his position and given a mere 15-day suspension? Why was he riding in the bus with the victorious French national soccer team as recently as a week ago? Why weren’t judicial authorities immediately informed of his violent acts? Why did the Macron government shield Mr. Benalla, until Le Monde’s scoop last week made it impossible for officials to do so?

To the critics of the president, the Benalla affair — and his silence about it — says much about Mr. Macron’s distant style, which had never been put to the test of an election until he unexpectedly gained the presidency last year.

“He’s surrounded by people who sing his praises day and night, and he’s never been confronted with the essence of what it is to manage power,” said Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the opposition to Mr. Macron in Parliament and head of the left-wing La France Insoumise party, or France Unbowed, in a telephone interview on Monday.

“Why was he incapable of understanding this situation?” Mr. Mélenchon asked. “His only method is the crossing of the Bridge at Arcole,” he said, referring to a famous bold Napoleonic victory. “So he doesn’t understand the reality of it.”

“Essentially his style is monarchic, that of an absolute president,” Mr. Mélenchon added. “He’s a man who said he gained power by force and surprise, and he’s surrounded by people who have no experience of the state, who think of the state as a sort of corporation, a business.”

Mr. Macron’s distance from his constituents — highlighted by a string of recent missteps, including the public upbraiding of a bewildered teenager and the ordering up of a costly dinner service for the Élysée — was on display during his trip last week. He engaged with the crowds easily enough, smiling and shaking hands.