It is a tragedy that has taken on a highly political dimension. On Saturday, February 14, Quentin Deranque, a 23-year-old far-right activist, died after being brutally beaten on the sidelines of a conference given by MEP Rima Hassan of La France Insoumise (LFI), which was taking place at Sciences Po Lyon university. The young man had reportedly been recruited to provide security for activists from the identitarian collective Némésis, who had planned a demonstration in front of the university building. While an investigation for voluntary homicide has been opened, the hypothesis of a street clash between militant groups – far-right on one side and anti-fascists on the other – appears to be confirmed.

Around ten people have been arrested in the Lyon area, Isère, and Drôme, and taken into custody in Lyon, as part of the preliminary investigation opened for “murder,” “criminal conspiracy,” and “aggravated assault due to the use of weapons by association and the concealment of the face.” Several of the suspects are on the “S” watchlist for political radicalisation, due to their membership in the Jeune Garde (Young Guard), an anti-fascist group co-founded in 2018 by Raphaël Arnault, who was subsequently elected to parliament under the LFI (La France Insoumise) banner in 2024. Among those arrested is Jacques-Elie Favrot, a parliamentary assistant to Raphaël Arnault.

Officially dissolved in June 2025 at the request of Bruno Retailleau, then Minister of the Interior, the Jeune Garde group filed an appeal with the Council of State, which is still under review by the judges. Because of its direct links with the Jeune Garde, LFI has also been heavily targeted in recent days. The party and its representatives are being held responsible for this tragedy by the entire far right, part of the left, and the government itself. On Monday, February 16, government spokesperson Maud Bregeon stated on BFM that La France Insoumise (LFI) bore “a moral responsibility for the political climate and the climate of violence.”

Meanwhile, far-right media outlets within the Bolloré sphere are having a field day, asserting that “Anti-fascism is terrorism like any other.” A month before the municipal elections, political parties are passing the buck for an escalation of violence, for which the “ultra-left” is supposedly responsible, and Anti-fascism – a political practice that aims, in the name of equality, to combat the hateful, racist, or authoritarian ideas embodied by the far right – is seen as one of its dangerous symptoms.

[Update: It is now certain that Quentin Deranque was present at the last neo-Nazi demonstration by group C9M. Several videos show him surrounded by people wearing “white race” t-shirts. On the sidelines of this demonstration, participants were filmed without their knowledge giving Nazi salutes]

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Machine translation from R Basta!. Top photo: Prima Linea. Video: CND.