France discusses political violence after the loss of life of a right-wing extremist | EUROtoday

As of: February 17, 2026 9:08 p.m

The loss of life of a right-wing extremist is inflicting heated debates in France. The 23-year-old was allegedly injured so badly in a combat with left-wing activists that he died. Serious allegations are actually being made in politics.

The authorities spent days evaluating video footage and questioning witnesses – now 5 suspects have been arrested. This was confirmed by senior public prosecutor Thierry Dran.

Among them is seemingly a parliamentary assistant to Raphaël Arnault, who sits within the National Assembly for the unconventional left-wing occasion “La France Insoumise,” or LFI for brief. This is reported by a number of French media retailers, citing investigative circles.

However, there aren’t any particulars in regards to the precise sequence of occasions that led to the loss of life of 23-year-old pupil Quentin Deranque. According to prosecutor Thierry Dran, a minimum of six folks beat Quentin Deranque – and injured him so badly that he died in hospital just a few days later.

The lethal violence in Lyon occurred on the sidelines of a convention hosted by Rima Hassan, a pro-Palestinian activist and MEP from the unconventional left-wing occasion La France Insoumise (LFI). Members of the brand new right-wing motion Némésis demonstrated in opposition to the convention.

Némésis describes itself as a feminist and id collective that significantly desires to attract consideration to “the dangerous effects of mass immigration on Western women,” as Némésis writes on its web site.

French National Assembly members stand for a minute’s silence for the slain right-wing extremist activist Deranque.

Many questions stay unanswered about what occurred

For the protest in opposition to Rima Hassan’s convention, Némésis employed a “security service” made up of acquaintances, which is alleged to have included Quentin Deranque.

Prosecutor Dran emphasizes that this specifically recruited “security service” stayed out of the preliminary quarrels: “Nevertheless, the members were later attacked by around 20 masked and hooded people. Many were able to escape, three stayed behind. These three, including Quentin Deranque – were thrown to the ground and repeatedly beaten by several people. In Deranque’s case, at least six.”

Struggle for sovereignty of interpretation

According to the general public prosecutor’s workplace, the 23-year-old suffered severe head accidents. He died in hospital just a few days later. According to data from the French media, which additionally refers to police circles, Quentin Deranque was a member of varied right-wing extremist and neo-fascist teams.

After his loss of life, the talk over the political sovereignty of interpretation raged in France. Long earlier than the prosecution, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez publicly shared his studying of the occasions. It was clearly the work of the ultra-left, Nuñez stated actually.

The French authorities sees duty for Deranque’s loss of life because the “Jeune Garde Antifasciste” – a militant left-wing group based in 2018 by a present member of parliament from the unconventional left-wing occasion LFI. Last summer season, the “Jeune Garde” was dissolved by authorities decree. The group has lodged a criticism in opposition to this, however the ban is just not but legally binding.

Government representatives – corresponding to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez had already identified connections between the “Jeune Garde” and La France Insoumise on the weekend – and made LFI partly accountable for the scholar’s loss of life.

The connection between the Jeune Garde and LFI is shut, that can not be denied! Just just a few days in the past, the occasion revealed a communiqué calling on me and the federal government to cease the ban on the Jeune Garde – a choice that now lies with the best administrative courtroom.

Laurent Nuñez, Minister of the Interior of France

France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez attracts a transparent connection between left-wing activists and the parliamentary occasion LFI.

Domestic coverage Streit

Nuñez and different members of the French authorities derive from this that the LFI occasion shared political duty for Deranque’s loss of life; they a minimum of suggest this duty.

The left-wing MP Eric Coquerel speaks of political seize of the federal government.

The LFI MP Éric Coquerel firmly rejects these accusations: “We have nothing to do with what happened. I find the attempts at political capture – which extend into the government – unworthy. All of this is intended to weaken us. Anyone who does that, whoever uses a tragedy – that’s what I call what happened – is taking a big democratic risk. That is unacceptable.”

Manuel Bompard, the coordinator of La France Insoumise, has dismissed these accusations as actually “false”: there aren’t any hyperlinks between the group and the occasion. LFI bears no political duty, stated Bompard on the BFM broadcaster.

Local elections are arising

One factor is for certain – even whether it is unclear what precisely occurred in Lyon final Thursday: the loss of life of right-wing extremist pupil Quentin Deranque has brought on horror in France – and is fueling the nation’s political polarization a month earlier than native elections.

Parties and occasion alliances in France

The newly based occasion “La République en Marche!” by Emmanuel Macron gained an absolute majority within the 2017 parliamentary elections. In 2022, the En Marche motion defended its political supremacy.

In 2024, Macron’s occasion solely got here in second place. Since then, governing and discovering a majority in parliament have turn out to be tougher: the Parti Socialiste (PS), the socialist occasion, is at residence within the left-wing, reasonable spectrum. Much additional out is the – in components radical left – “La France insoumise” (LFI), which was based as a left-wing populist and EU-sceptic occasion in 2016 by former presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

The “Divers Gauche” (DVG) alliance is a free assortment of left-wing candidates with out occasion affiliation. The communists, the Parti communiste français (PCF), and the inexperienced different “Les Écologistes” are additionally working for elections – albeit with reasonable success. In 2024, many of those events ran within the parliamentary election because the “Nouveau Populaire Front” (NFP). in a left-wing electoral alliance and surprisingly emerged because the winner within the second spherical of voting. However, the brand new MPs didn’t type a typical group within the National Assembly resulting from variations of opinion.

In the center, the centrist “Mouvement démocrate” (MoDem) is preventing for votes. Likewise the “Union des Démocrates et Indépendants” (UDI), the Union of Independents. In the right-of-center political spectrum, “Les Républicains” (LR) hope to construct on earlier electoral successes that they achieved because the UMP with Presidents Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy.

In the far proper camp is the “Rassemblement National”, previously “Front National” (FN) of Jordan Bardella, who succeeded the legally convicted former frontwoman Marie Le Pen as occasion chief and is now hoping to run as a candidate within the 2027 presidential election. There are additionally varied smaller events, lists and regional alliances.

https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/europa/frankreich-rechtsextremer-aktivist-gestorben-100.html