Chopped Fingertip Found In Package Delivered To French President's Official Residence: Report

A police investigation has been launched after a package containing a chopped human fingertip was sent to the official residence of French President Emmanuel Macron, the Paris prosecutor's office confirmed to CNN on Thursday.

"A piece of a finger, a fingertip it seems," was mailed to the Elysee Palace, the Paris prosecutor's office told the outlet. It also added that the police on Monday opened a case for a "threat of a crime or offence against an elected official". 

Separately, citing French newswire AFP, Politico reported that the fingertip belonged to the package's sender, who has a psychiatric condition. The gruesome find was reported by staff working for President Emmanuel Macron at the beginning of the week. 

The Elysee Palace is yet to comment on the report. 

The Elysee Palace is the official home in Paris of French President Emmanuel Macron, who has held office since 2017. 

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Meanwhile, the discovery of the severed fingertip comes days after France witnessed violent protests over the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk during a police traffic stop in June. For weeks, protesters carried signs that read "the police kill". The protesters even damaged hundreds of government buildings, while riot police officers fiercely clashed with demonstrators.

This unrest prompted a crisis response from French President Emmanuel Macron, who held an emergency meeting with ministers in an attempt to bridge divisions and unite the country in his second term. Mr Macron also called for social media platforms to help damp down the demonstrations, asking TikTok and Snapchat to withdraw the "most sensitive content" and to identify users who employ "social networks to call for disorder or to exacerbate violence".