French authorities arrested nine people on February 17 for the fatal beating of a 23-year-old far-right activist in an episode on the sidelines of a protest in Lyon. The attack has increased political tensions ahead of key elections.
First modification: 02/18/2026 - 01:36
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French authorities arrested nine suspects on February 17 in connection with the murder last week of a far-right activist, including an assistant to a radical leftist deputy, according to a prosecutor and a source with knowledge of the situation.
Quentin Deranque, 23, died after suffering a serious brain injury when he was attacked by at least six people last week, on the sidelines of a far-right protest against a left-wing politician who was giving a lecture at a university in the city of Lyon, in the southeast of the country.
The incident has fueled tension between France's far-right and far-left ahead of municipal elections in March and presidential elections in 2027, in which the far-right National Rally party (RN) is seen as more likely than ever to win the top office.
Lyon prosecutor Thierry Dran announced the arrest of four suspects and, shortly after, that of another five, bringing the total to nine.
A source close to the case, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that among the first four arrested was an assistant to Raphael Arnault, a deputy for the far-left France Insoumise (LFI) party.
Arnault reacted by saying that he was going to fire the assistant.
LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon claimed that those who had attacked Deranque had "disgraced themselves" by acting with apparent lethal intent.
"When it comes to violence, whether defensive or offensive... not all hits are allowed," he said.
An anti-immigration collective called Nemesis, which claims to fight violence against Western women, said Deranque had been at the Lyon protest to protect its members.
Nemesis has blamed the murder on La Jeune Garde (The Young Guard), an anti-fascist youth group co-founded by Arnault before he was elected deputy.
The Jeune Garde, which was disbanded in June, has denied any link to the "tragic events", while Arnault has called the murder horrific.
On February 16, Parliament Speaker Yael Braun-Pivet said that one of Arnault's assistants had been expelled from the chamber after being mentioned by witnesses.
Assignment of blame
Thursday's attack has been described as "a pitched battle between members of the far left and the far right," according to another source close to the investigation.
A video broadcast by the TF1 television network of the alleged attack shows a dozen people beating three others who are lying on the ground, two of whom manage to escape.
A witness stated that "people were hitting each other with iron bars."
Lawmakers held a minute of silence Tuesday afternoon at France's National Assembly in memory of Deranque, while a march in Lyon is expected to be held in his honor next Saturday.
Although the Government has pointed out LFI and La Jeune Garde, the Lyon prosecutor refused on Monday to comment on those accusations, limiting himself to specifying that the incident was being investigated as voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault.
On the extreme right, the RN presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen, who is running for the third time, has condemned the "barbarians responsible for this lynching."
His lieutenant, Jordan Bardella, who heads his party, stated after the arrests that Mélenchon, of LFI, had "moral and political responsibility" for what happened, alleging that he had "opened the doors of the National Assembly to alleged murderers."
Opinion polls place the far right in the lead for the 2027 presidential elections, when centrist President Emmanuel Macron will have to retire after serving the maximum of two consecutive terms.
Adapted from its original English version
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