Mystery man breaks into Elysee Palace and gets to within FEET of President Macron’s office in huge security blunder

AN intruder managed to get within feet of Emmanuel Macron’s office after sneaking past guards at the Elysee Palace. The astonishing security lapse at the French president’s official residence was revealed by the magazine Le Canard enchaîné. AlamyThe intruder managed to evade hundreds of security officials to reach the inside of the palace[/caption] AlamyThe Salon Dore is the president’s office within the vast palace[/caption] The publication said the suspect, 26, was able to wander the halls before he was spotted and apprehended on September 28.  The bizarre event has left palace security and French police stunned as to how he got inside the palace and so close to Macron’s office.  The sprawling 18th-century Elysee Palace, located in the 8th arrondissement in Paris, consists of over 365 rooms, two hectares of gardens, and around 180 round-the-clock soldiers who patrol the grounds.  French authorities believe the intruder was able to slip past security during the changing of the Republican Guards and somehow cross the courtyard undetected.  READ MORE ON FRANCE THE SUN SAYS Signing a deal with Macron to stop migrants will look like the easy bit STREETS OF RAGE Riot cops charge protesters & violence erupts in Paris after Macron win A mighty feat due to the frighteningly-high levels of security.  French officials state that Macron was not in his office at the time of the break-in, but was attending a meeting in another wing of the Parisian mansion.  If prosecuted by French police, the mystery mansion trespasser risks up to a year in prison and a fine of €15,000 euro (£12,935).  However, this is not the first time a mysterious individual has attempted to breach palace security. Most read in The Sun CALL THE THERAPIST Strictly's Johannes hints at feud with former partners on It Takes Two DAD DUTY What Mike's post-jungle trip with Zara reveals about their unusual parenting style insta snub Corrie’s Sue Cleaver ‘confirms’ I’m A Celeb feud as she snubs rival campmate COMING HOME? I’m a time-traveller & I KNOW how England do in World Cup - I have video proof STAR SNUB I’m A Celebrity feud ‘confirmed’ as star is missing from boozy cast dinner BLINDING LIGHTS Man shows off his new veneers - but people say they look like LED lights In 2012, an armed man tried to break into the palace residence of then-French president Francois Hollande.  However, he was quickly thwarted by French authorities and arrested at the gates. The threat was low as Mr Hollande was not inside at the time, and the gun was later found to be a replica.  The news of this September’s break-in has surfaced in the midst of Macron’s three-day state visit to Washington – the first official visit of Biden’s presidency.  After a somewhat fractious relationship between the two old allies, the countries have forged closer ties recently. As war rages in Ukraine and China’s aggressiveness escalates, elements of the two nations’ diplomatic ambitions have more closely aligned.  Far from thoughts of the strange palace intruder, the French president’s mind will likely be focused on ending the war in Ukraine, bolstering France’s nuclear energy industry, and the effects of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act on the EU’s ability to compete in the US market.  GettyPresident Macron’s trip to the US will be the first state visit by a foreign leader under Biden’s presidency[/caption]