Parliamentary aide, 10 others arrested over killing of French far-right activist

Eleven suspects, including a parliamentary aide to France’s left-wing party La France Insoumise (LFI), have been arrested over the fatal beating of 23-year-old French far-right activist Quentin Deranque in Lyon last week.

The attack occurred during clashes at a protest against a university conference attended by European MP Rima Hassan of LFI. Prosecutors said Deranque, a mathematics student, suffered a severe brain injury after being “thrown to the ground and beaten by at least six individuals.”

The arrests, announced on Tuesday and Wednesday, include people alleged to have participated directly in the assault, as well as others suspected of aiding the attackers.

The incident has sent shockwaves across France, intensifying political tensions ahead of next month’s municipal elections and the 2027 presidential race, and highlighting the country’s deep divisions between far-right and left-wing groups.

The attack occurred while Deranque was near the protest against the university conference attended by Rima Hassan, a European member of parliament for Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s left-wing party, La France Insoumise (LFI).

The anti-immigration Némésis collective, which was protesting against the conference, said Deranque had been there to protect its members and was assaulted by anti-fascist activists. Hassan and other members of LFI have condemned the killing.

The case has further heightened political tensions in France ahead of next month’s municipal elections and the 2027 presidential race, with polls suggesting the far-right National Rally could see strong support.

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Prosecutors first announced nine arrests late Tuesday. Sources told Agence France-Presse that those detained included people suspected of taking part in the violence as well as others accused of providing support.

Two more suspects were arrested hours later, including a man suspected of being directly involved and his partner, who was suspected of helping him evade justice.

The LFI politician Raphaël Arnault confirmed that his parliamentary assistant was among those detained, saying the aide had “ceased all parliamentary work”.

On Wednesday, LFI said it was forced to evacuate its national headquarters after a bomb threat.

“The national headquarters of LFI have just been evacuated following a bomb threat,” the party’s coordinator, Manuel Bompard, said on social media. “Police services are on site. All employees and activists are safe.”

As videos of the confrontation circulated online, Mélenchon urged calm.

“Let’s not fuel the incitement to take the law into one’s own hands,” he said.

Footage broadcast by TF1 appeared to show several people attacking others on the ground. One witness told AFP: “People were hitting each other with iron bars.”

Némésis has blamed the killing on La Jeune Garde, an anti-fascist youth group co-founded by Arnault before his election to parliament. The group, dissolved in June, denied any link to the “tragic events”, while Arnault described the killing as “horrific”.

The Lyon prosecutor has not confirmed political responsibility, saying the investigation is examining suspected “intentional homicide” and aggravated assault.

Politicians held a minute of silence at the national assembly on Tuesday in Deranque’s memory, and a march is expected in Lyon next Saturday.

President Emmanuel Macron also addressed the killing, calling for justice and restraint.

“It is essential that the perpetrators of this ignominy be prosecuted, brought to justice and convicted. Hatred that kills has no place among us,” he wrote. “I call for calm, restraint and respect.”

(The Guardian UK)