Death of far-right activist in France sends tensions soaring and draws US criticism

(CNN) — The death of a far-right activist in France after a street brawl earlier this month has deepened political polarization in the country as elections loom – and sparked criticism from the Trump administration.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for calm ahead of rallies planned Saturday by far-right groups in memory of the activist – Quentin Deranque, 23.

Deranque died two days after suffering severe head injuries in the brawl in the city of Lyon on February 12.

A former French prime minister compared the death to the killing of the US conservative activist, Charlie Kirk. Here’s what we know.

How did Deranque die?

The brawl was caught on video, which showed several masked people kicking and punching a man on the ground, causing widespread shock and anger in France.

Two people have been charged with murder in connection with Deranque’s death, and altogether 11 have been arrested. Some of those arrested had acknowledged involvement in the brawl but all denied intending to kill Deranque, according to Lyon prosecutor Thierry Dran.

One man charged with complicity in the killing has been identified as a parliamentary assistant in the hard-left party France Unbowed (La France Insoumise). He has denied involvement.

Deranque was beaten near a Lyon conference center where a senior member of France Unbowed was speaking. The party has 71 deputies in the 577-member National Assembly.

What’s the reaction been in France?

His death has sparked several incidents. The Place de la République in Paris was daubed in swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans last Sunday after a neo-Nazi rally, and offices of France Unbowed have been attacked.

A far-right rally was taking place in Lyon on Saturday, attended by 2,000 to 3,000 people according to the Interior Ministry. A live television feed showed some of the demonstrators wearing masks. The rally included groups such as Action Française, with which Deranque was linked, and was monitored by a heavy police presence.

The political temperature in France has risen ahead of local elections in March and a presidential vote next year. Polls suggest the far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National) could capture the presidency for the first time.

“There is no space in France for movements that adopt or legitimize violence,” Macron told reporters during a trip to India earlier this week.

In remarks aimed at militant left-wing groups, Macron said: “When people explain that they have set up militias due to self-protection, they are committing a moral offense; everybody has to put their houses in order.”

The National Rally, the largest bloc in parliament, has blamed what it called the dehumanizing language of militant leftists for Deranque’s death. But its leader Jordan Bardella called on supporters not to attend the Lyon rally on Saturday.

French sociologists tracking militant political violence say the vast majority of incidents in recent decades have been caused by far-right and neo-Nazi groups.

Of 57 deaths in France linked to violence among political groups between 1986 and 2017, all but five were caused by right-wing extremists, according to sociology professor Isabelle Sommier.

“For the past 10 years, political violence has increased significantly, with attacks doubling and the number of clashes multiplying fivefold,” Sommier told French newspaper Le Monde this week.

“Six deaths have already been recorded since 2022, all attributed to radical right-wing activists,” she added.

How has the US reacted?

The Trump administration has described Deranque’s death as the result of left-wing violence, consistent with its criticism of left-wing groups at home.

Last September, Trump signed an order designating the anti-fascism movement Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, accusing it of organizing political violence with the goal of overthrowing the US government.

The State Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau said on X Friday that “reports, corroborated by the French Minister of the Interior, that Quentin Deranque was killed by left-wing militants, should concern us all.”

“Violent radical leftism is on the rise and its role in Quentin Deranque’s death demonstrates the threat it poses to public safety,” the bureau added.

Deranque’s death has also sparked a diplomatic spat between France and Italy, after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on X that Deranque’s death was caused “by groups linked to left-wing extremism” and condemned “a climate of ideological hatred sweeping several nations.”

“I’m always struck by how people who are nationalists, who don’t want to be bothered in their own country, are always the first ones to comment on what’s happening in other countries,” Macron responded.

How has the killing changed French politics?

France has seen a shifting fragmentation of its politics since Macron was first elected in 2017. There have been five prime ministers in the past two years, with all of them struggling to stitch together a majority in the fractured National Assembly.

The killing of Deranque has turned the spotlight on the far-left in France and may transform the political landscape, making it unpalatable for center parties to reach any understandings with the far-left France Unbowed – potentially giving an advantage to the National Rally.

“France Unbowed in turmoil, the National Rally smiling?” asked analyst Guillaume Tabard in Le Figaro this week, saying that the taboo conventionally attached to the far-right party had now been transferred to the far-left.

“A kind of landslide occurred with the death of Quentin Deranque: Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s (France Unbowed) party became the most criticized, both politically and in the media. This is a boon for Jordan Bardella’s party, which had enjoyed this “privilege” for over half a century,” Tabard wrote.

Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin sees a watershed moment for the country.

“For France, this is the ‘Charlie Kirk moment’ that Trump’s America experienced a few months ago with the assassination of Charlie Kirk by a murderer claiming to be anti-fascist,” de Villepin wrote on X.

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