Paris: It was the week that Emmanuel Macron, the slick young French president who once said that he hoped to rule above the political fray like the Roman god Jupiter, was brutally reminded that he is, after all, a mere mortal.

His top aides were grilled on live television and the opposition shut down Parliament. And to cap it all he was forced to issue a bizarre denial that he was having a homosexual affair with the bodyguard who sparked a political scandal after being filmed beating up May Day protesters.

A man identified as Alexandre Benalla, right, a security chief to French President Emmanuel Macron, confronting a student during a May Day demonstration in Paris. Credit:AP

Seeking to dispel rumours on the internet, Macron joked: "Alexandre Benalla has never had the nuclear codes... Alexandre Benalla is not my lover." His MPs laughed but the joke did not go down well with the public. His popularity ratings, already down, fell to a record low.

It was all so different just two weeks ago. He had established himself as a leader who could sweep all before him, pushing through reforms his predecessors had promised but never delivered.