3 months ago
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The “ultra-left” successful France was down the fatal beating of a French younker aligned with the acold right, the Justice Minister said connected Sunday (February 15, 2026), aft the sidesplitting inflamed governmental hostility successful the state up of elections.
Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin besides accused hard-left politicians, including from the France Unbowed (LFI) party, the largest left-wing faction successful parliament, of fuelling unit with their language.
The victim, Quentin Deranque, aged 23, had been hospitalised and placed into a coma connected Thursday (February 12, 2026) aft being attacked successful the southeastern metropolis of Lyon. The bureau of the Lyon authoritative connected Saturday (February 14, 2026) told AFP Deranque had died of his wounds.
Supporters said helium had been providing information astatine a protestation against an quality by Rima Hassan, an LFI subordinate of the European Parliament, erstwhile helium was assaulted by a pack of rival activists.
Investigators are moving connected identifying the perpetrators, the prosecutors’ bureau said Sunday (February 15, 2026). An probe has been opened into suspected aggravated manslaughter
“It was intelligibly the ultra-left that killed him,” Mr. Darmanin told RTL television.
“There are so speeches, peculiarly from France Unbowed and the ultra-left, which unluckily pb to unbridled unit connected societal networks and past successful the carnal world,” helium said.
“Words tin kill,” Darmanin added, accusing Hassan and LFI person Jean-Luc Melenchon of “not having a connection to accidental for the household of the young man”.
‘Compassion, respect’
Later Sunday (February 15, 2026), Melenchon voiced his “shock” astatine the killing. “We besides nonstop our empathy and compassion to his household and loved ones,” helium said.
Mr. Melenchon, a three-time statesmanlike campaigner wide expected to tally again successful elections adjacent year, added that his question opposes violence, rejecting the blasted placed connected it arsenic lacking “any transportation with reality”.
An alleged video of the onslaught broadcast by TF1 tv shows a twelve radical hitting 3 others lying connected the ground, 2 of whom negociate to escape.
“I heard shouts, radical were hitting each different with robust bars and truthful forth. When I came to the scene, I saw individuals covered successful blood,” a witnesser to the attack, who gave lone the archetypal sanction Adem, told AFP.
According to the Nemesis collective, which is adjacent to the acold right, Quentin was providing information for its protesters and was assaulted by “anti-fascist” activists.
The family’s lawyer said successful a connection Quentin appeared to person been ambushed by “organised and trained individuals, vastly superior successful fig and armed, immoderate with their faces masked”.
Pre-election tension
The incidental has further fuelled hostility betwixt France’s acold close and hard near up of municipal elections nationwide successful March and the 2027 statesmanlike race.
Three-time statesmanlike campaigner Marine Le Pen, who is inactive hoping to basal successful 2027 contempt a graft conviction, said connected X that the “barbarians liable for this lynching” should beryllium brought to justice.
Demonstrations called by the acold close successful representation of Quentin took spot successful the confederate metropolis of Montpellier and Paris, wherever protesters unfurled a banner speechmaking “antifa murderers, justness for Quentin”.
The acold close has pointed the digit astatine la Jeune Garde (Young Guard), an anti-fascist younker offshoot of the LFI.
But its laminitis Raphael Arnault, an LFI lawmaker, expressed his “horror” astatine the fatal beating, and the radical denied involvement, saying it had “suspended each activities”.
LFI lawmaker Eric Coquerel, speaking to Franceinfo, condemned “all governmental violence” but said the activists liable for Hassan’s information “were successful nary mode progressive successful what happened”.
He pointed alternatively to a peculiar “context” successful the southeastern metropolis marked by unit from “far-right groups”.
Centrist President Emmanuel Macron has called for “calm” and “restraint”.
At Saint George’s Church successful Lyon, which the young antheral attended and wherever helium volunteered for charities, clergyman Laurent Spriet called connected Sunday for prayers “for the bid of Quentin’s soul”.
“Everything successful its ain time. Now is for compassion, for respect, for prayer, for letting the constabulary and the justness strategy bash their work,” helium said.
