Many political leaders, including ministers, accuse La France insoumise of being partly responsible for the death of nationalist activist Quentin Deranque in Lyon, because of his speech but also because the name of a parliamentary assistant to LFI deputy Raphaël Arnault is cited by several witnesses.

Published on: 02/16/2026 - 2:45 p.m. Modified on: 02/16/2026 - 5:08 p.m.

Rebellious France in the eye of the storm. After the death of Quentin Deranque, a young nationalist activist violently attacked in Lyon, many political leaders blame the party, believing that the speech of its leaders favors the physical violence of the "ultra-left".

“Moral responsibility” of La France insoumise (Maud Bregeon, government spokesperson), “a complacency of La France insoumise (...) for political violence” (Gérald Darmanin, Minister of Justice), “La France insoumise creates fertile ground for this ultraviolence” (Othman Nasrou, secretary general of the Les Républicains party), “a responsibility of all political leaders who stir up hatred, including those of La France rebellious" (Raphaël Glucksmann, Place publique MEP)… The list of declarations targeting Jean-Luc Mélenchon's party continues to grow.

Why does La France insoumise (LFI) find itself under fire from critics? Explanations.

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What happened in Lyon?

A 23-year-old student, Quentin Deranque, died on Saturday February 14 in Lyon, two days after an attack by “ultra-left” activists, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nunez. According to the identity collective Némésis, Quentin was part of the security service responsible for ensuring the security of its activists who demonstrated Thursday in front of the Institute of Political Studies (IEP) in Lyon against a conference by MEP Rima Hassan (La France insoumise).

Transported with a vital prognosis to the Édouard Herriot hospital, where he was placed in an artificial coma, the young man died on Saturday as a result of his serious injuries. According to the family's lawyer, Fabien Rajon, he "would have received [during his attack, Editor's note] blows to the head even though he was lying lifeless on the ground."

See alsoMurder of Quentin in Lyon: “Political violence to the point of murder”

Laurent Nunez affirmed on Sunday evening that, “obviously, it was the ultra-left who were in charge” during this attack.

On Sunday, the prosecution reported "several significant testimonies" collected by the police in this investigation opened for "aggravated fatal assaults" and "aggravated violence", and which "is now focusing on the identification of the direct perpetrators of the correctional and criminal violence". According to a source close to the matter, there was "a pitched battle between members of the ultra-left and the ultra-right" in the streets surrounding the establishment. It was in this context that the young student was beaten shortly after 6 p.m., according to her.

Quentin Deranque was thrown to the ground and beaten by “at least six individuals” masked and hooded, the Lyon prosecutor said on Monday. When he was taken care of by the emergency services, the young man "mainly presented head injuries", including "major cranio-encephalic trauma", "beyond any therapeutic resource and fatal in the short term", added Thierry Dran during a press conference.

No arrests have taken place at this stage in the investigation, reclassified as “intentional homicide” and “aggravated violence”. The police interviewed “more than fifteen witnesses” and are analyzing videos of the attack.

Gérald Darmanin and Laurent Nunez point the finger at LFI and the Young Guard

“Today, it is the ultra-left who killed, it is indisputable,” said Sunday midday the Minister of Justice Gérald Darmanin, in the program Le Grand Jury RTL/Public Sénate/Le Figaro/M6, making a link with LFI at the same time.

“There are indeed political speeches, in particular those of La France insoumise and the ultra-left, which unfortunately lead (...) to very unbridled violence on social networks, extreme violence on social networks and in the physical world”, he developed, pointing to a “complacency of La France insoumise (...) for political violence”.

"In the beginning was the verb. But words can kill. Simple minds, radicalized minds can use these words to intervene in the physical field and assassinate, violate, threaten," he said.

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For his part, after affirming that "the ultra-left was in action", the Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nunez, spoke of the possible involvement of the anti-fascist group Jeune Garde. “The investigation will confirm whether or not they were activists of the Young Guard. But the testimonies clearly point in this direction,” he declared on France 2’s 8 p.m.

Created in 2018, the Young Guard presented itself as a self-defense reaction against particularly violent and prosperous far-right movements in Lyon, including the neofascist movement Social Bastion. A network of fairly independent local Young Guard groups then spread to several cities, including Paris, Strasbourg, Lille and Montpellier. The association was dissolved in June 2025 by the Council of Ministers, with the government accusing it of "provoking violent actions against people, provocations very often followed by effects". The Young Guard has filed an appeal for annulment against the dissolution decree before the Council of State, which has not yet ruled.

Previously, other political leaders, including Marine Le Pen, Bruno Retailleau and Gabriel Attal, had made the link between La France insoumise and the death of young Quentin.

What are the links between LFI, the Young Guard and Quentin’s attack?

Co-founder of the Young Guard, Raphaël Arnault was elected deputy for La France insoumise in 2024 in Vaucluse. One of his parliamentary assistants, Jacques-Élie Favrot, is directly implicated by several witnesses in the fatal attack on the young nationalist activist.

"I cannot confirm it to you. Only the public prosecutor's office can do it. But from what I understand, there are numerous testimonies, notably from activists of the opposing party, who say so. Investigations are underway," Interior Minister Laurent Nunez declared on France Inter on Monday morning.

On Sunday, Jacques-Élie Favrot indicated through his lawyer, Me Bertrand Sayn, “formally denies being responsible for this tragedy”. He declared himself "threatened with death by the extreme right throughout the country and in Europe". He also announced that he was withdrawing from his duties as collaborator "during the investigation" and that he was "at the disposal of the justice system in order to shed light on this tragedy", Mr. Sayn said. His access to the Palais Bourbon was suspended on Monday by the President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet.

LFI deputy Raphaël Arnault expressed “horror and disgust” on Saturday after the announcement of the death of the 23-year-old student, and said on X that he hoped “all the light would be shed”.

“The Young Guard having suspended all its activities pending a decision from the Council of State, it cannot be held responsible for the tragic events which took place in Lyon” on Thursday, reacted the anti-fascist group in a press release signed by its lawyer, Me Aïnoha Pascual.

“We have nothing to do with this story and those who accuse us are slanderers,” reacted Jean-Luc Mélenchon during a meeting on Sunday in Montpellier. “We express our astonishment, but also our empathy and our compassion for the family, for the loved ones,” he added, stressing that he had “said dozens of times that we were hostile and opposed to violence”.

A message hammered out a little earlier by his lieutenants. “Insoumise France bears no responsibility” in this tragedy, Manuel Bompard said on LCI on Sunday, certifying that the members of the security service present with Rima Hassan “had no contact with any of the groups who were outside”.

With AFP

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