
French president Emmanuel Macron today launched a furious English language attack on heavily armed Israeli security guards for following him into a French church in Jerusalem.

The 42-year-old head of state erupted in anger after officers broke diplomatic protocol by walking into Saint Anne's, in the city's Old Town, on Wednesday.

'Everybody knows the rules,' Macron shouted. 'I don't like what you did in front of me. Go outside!'

Macron shouted at israeli security: 'I don't like what you did in front of me. Go outside!'

Macron arriving at St Anne's Church, which has belonged to France ever since the Ottoman Empire gave it to Napoleon III in 1856 as thanks for his support during the Crimean War.

It was an echo of a similar row his predecessor Jacques Chirac had at the church in 1996.

When an Israel official initially refused to move out of the church, Mr Macron said: 'You know the rules! Nobody, nobody, nobody has to provoke.

'We keep calm. We had a wonderful walk. You did a great job in the city, I do appreciate, guys, but please respect the rules as they are for centuries – they will not change with me, I can tell you, so everybody respect the rules.'

French President Emmanuel Macron was touring the Old City of Jerusalem today

Macron is pictured during his trip to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City today

Macron is pictured meeting priests at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is shared by six Christian denominations, during his trip to the Old City of Jerusalem today

Macron is pictured standing in front of the altar at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem today

Macron, pictured centre, is visiting Jerusalem's holy sites to mark the 75th anniversary of the Red Army's liberation of the Auschwitz extermination camp

Video footage of the row was circulated on social media.

St Anne's Church has belonged to France ever since the Ottoman Empire gave it to Napoleon III in 1856 as thanks for his support during the Crimean War.

Mr Macron is acutely aware of protocol in Jerusalem, which is claimed as a capital city by both Israel and Palestine.

Macron, his security detail, and church officials, walk through an arch of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre during his visit to Jerusalem's Old City earlier today

Macron and priests talk in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre today in Jerusalem's Old City

Macron greets locals during his visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre earlier today

Macron is pictured praying at the Western Wall today in Jerusalem's Old City

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, visits the Western wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in the Old City of Jerusalem today

The French president shakes the hands of local children as he prepares to enter the Western Wall Tunnels Sites in Jerusalem's Old City today

Surrounded by locals, Macron puts on a kippah and makes his way to the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City today

Macron is pictured shaking the hands of Jewish people in the Old City of Jerusalem earlier today during his visit to commemorate the Holocaust

It is also considered holy to the three major Abrahamic religions – Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

Mr Macron began a visit to Jerusalem on Wednesday, and hoped to avoid the controversies of past presidents.

In 1996, the then conservative President Jacques Chirac visited St Anne's but refused to enter until Israeli security guards had left.

Macron meets Muslims in Jerusalem today as he visits the al-Aqsa compound located in the Old City

Locals present a gift to the French president during during his visit to the Dome of the Rock mosque inside the al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem's Old City today

Macron grasps the hand of a local during his visit to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem's Old City today

Macron receives a souvenir from locals in front of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem's Old City today

Macron speaks with locals during his visit to the Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem's Old City earlier today

In 1996, the then conservative President Jacques Chirac had a similar row at the church

Jacques Chirac visited St Anne's in 1996 but refused to enter until Israeli security had left

Mr Chirac, who died last September, said the Israelis were being deliberately provocative and heavy-handed, and at one point threatened to get back on his plane to Paris.

Mr Macron's two-day visit had included meetings to discuss the prospect of peace in the Middle East with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Mr Macron has frequently expressed his desire to renew the Israel-Palestine peace process, which stalled in 2014.

But earlier this month, he said: 'I'm not going to come saying 'this is a peace plan' because it would only fail. I'm going to speak to the players, see what the conditions are. France always has a role to play and I don't think we're absent from the debates in the region.'