Nine people, including a parliamentary assistant to LFI MP Raphaël Arnault, were arrested Tuesday as part of the investigation into the death of young nationalist activist Quentin Deranque, Lyon prosecutor Thierry Dran told AFP.
Published on: 02/17/2026 - 7:27 p.m. Modified on: 02/20/2026 - 3:24 p.m.
Nine suspects, including a parliamentary assistant to LFI MP Raphaël Arnault, were arrested on Tuesday February 17 as part of the investigation into the death of young nationalist activist Quentin Deranque, Lyon prosecutor Thierry Dran told AFP, confirming information from BMFTV, but refusing to say more at this stage.
These arrests follow the identification of several suspects, some of whom are linked to the "ultra-left", AFP learned on Tuesday from a source close to the case. The Lyon prosecutor confirmed to AFP that some suspects had been identified, "but not all".
“My colleague Jacques-Elie Favrot has ceased all his parliamentary activities. As of yesterday before learning of his arrest this evening, we initiated procedures with the services of the Assembly to terminate his contract. It is now up to the investigation to determine the responsibilities,” wrote Raphaël Arnault on X.
To readDeath of Quentin in Lyon: why is La France insoumise being blamed?
“It’s not over”
The prosecutor refused to say more about the profile of those arrested, but a source close to the case told AFP that a parliamentary assistant to LFI MP Raphaël Arnault was among them.
The name of parliamentary collaborator Jacques-Elie Favrot was "cited by several witnesses", the President of the National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet reported on Monday, suspending his "rights of access" to the Palais Bourbon.
The day before, the young man had denied, via his lawyer, "being responsible for this tragedy" and had said he was "standing at the disposal of justice". He withdrew from his duties with Raphaël Arnault "during the investigation", explained Mr. Bertrand Sayn.
Quentin Deranque, 23, was beaten up Thursday evening by several hooded people, on the sidelines of a conference by LFI MEP Rima Hassan at Sciences Po Lyon. Suffering from serious head trauma, he died on Saturday.
Raphaël Arnault, co-founder of the anti-fascist group La Jeune Garde dissolved in June 2025, expressed "horror and disgust" at the announcement of his death and hoped on X that "all the light would be shed".
Since Thursday, investigators have interviewed witnesses, used videos and telephones and managed on Tuesday morning to identify some of the suspects.
They then arrested two men in the Haute-Loire department and two others in Seyssel, in the north of Isère, but "it's not over", the source close to the case told AFP.
A source specified that those arrested were close to the ultra-left movement.
“Dishonored”
The president of the RN Jordan Bardella immediately accused the leader of LFI Jean-Luc Mélenchon of having "opened the doors of the National Assembly to alleged murderers" and of having "moral and political responsibility (...) immense" in the drama.
Even before the announcement of the arrests, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu had asked rebellious France to "clean up" its "ranks" during a particularly tense question session with the government in the National Assembly.
“We do not accept the lessons given to us by the Prime Minister, who has obviously lost his temper,” retorted Jean-Luc Mélenchon during a conference in front of activists in Paris.
Quentin Deranque's attackers "disgraced themselves" by hitting the young activist "in a way which, obviously, carries the risk of inflicting death", he added. “In violence, whether defensive or offensive (...), not all blows are permitted.”
The head of the rebellious deputies Mathilde Panot, for her part, denounced within the walls of the Bourbon palace those who "instrumentalize" the death of the nationalist activist to "sully" LFI.
She also criticized the executive for "silence", particularly after the death of former Argentine rugby international Federico Martin Aramburu, assassinated in Paris in 2022, while the main accused is a former member of the ultra-right movement Groupe Union Défense (GUD).
Applauded by deputies from the Macronist ranks up to the National Rally, Sébastien Lecornu sharply replied: “What you have just done is absolutely despicable and abject.”
“No political responsibility”
An electric exchange which contrasted with the minute of silence in tribute to Quentin Deranque, observed by all the deputies.
“The Young Guard kills, and La France insoumise should condemn it,” declared Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin.
The Young Guard, an anti-fascist movement founded in 2018 in Lyon, assured that it could not "be held responsible" for the death of Quentin Deranque, "having suspended all its activities" because it is subject to a dissolution procedure.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon has in the past praised the Young Guard. In April 2025, he praised the work of this “allied organization”.
LFI national coordinator Manuel Bompard argued on Tuesday that this past support did not constitute a link between LFI and the tragedy. If former members of this ultra-left group are responsible for the attack, "they must be punished", he said.
La France insoumise has “no link” with this aggression, nor “any political responsibility”, he insisted.
The Minister of Higher Education, Philippe Baptiste, announced on BFMTV that there would be no other “meetings” in universities if a risk of disturbance to public order is proven.
With AFP
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