Tensions have risen in France following the death of a young far-right activist in Lyon, Quentin Deranque, 23, who was killed following a violent attack by an “Antifa” group on the sidelines of a conference held by Rima Hassan, MEP of La France Insoumise ( the far-left party led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon), at Sciences Po Lyon.
The young man was taken to the hospital in critical condition on Thursday evening and died yesterday. According to the Némésis collective, which is close to the far-right, Quentin was part of the security detail assigned to protect its activists demonstrating against Rima Hassan's conference . The city prosecutor's office has announced an ongoing investigation into aggravated manslaughter and aggravated assault. The family's lawyer, Fabien Rajon, denounced the attack as a "crime" and a "methodically prepared ambush."
French government spokesperson Maud Bregeon denounces the "moral responsibility" of La France Insoumise (France Insoumise) for the "climate of violence" in the political debate. "La France Insoumise has been encouraging a climate of violence for years now. LFI has confirmed, if not acknowledged, links with extremely violent far-left groups," she deplored on Bfmtv/RMC, adding: "There is therefore a moral responsibility on the part of La France Insoumise for the political climate, the climate of violence."
The President of the French National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, has announced the suspension of the "right of access" to Parliament of Jacques-Elie Favrot, the parliamentary assistant to La France Insoumise MP Raphaël Arnault, whose name is "mentioned by several witnesses" in the fatal attack. "His presence within the walls of the Assembly could cause a disturbance of public order," reads a statement released by the presidency of the French lower chamber. Braun-Pivet "has therefore decided to suspend, as a precautionary measure and without prejudice to the continuation of the judicial investigation, the latter's access rights," the statement states.
