Quentin Derank suffered severe head injuries in a fight with suspected Antifa members in Lyon last month.
French authorities have arrested two additional suspects in the recent fatal beating of right-wing activist Quentin Deranc in Lyon, local media reported, with all key suspects now in custody. Eleven other people were arrested last month, some of them allegedly linked to left-wing groups.
Derank, a 23-year-old mathematics student and member of the nationalist group Ades Leon, died on February 14 of head injuries sustained two days earlier in a fight with suspected Antifa members. They were acting as informal security for protesters from the right-wing women’s group Nemesis.
On Wednesday, AFP said, citing an anonymous police source “We now believe we have all those who directly participated in defeating Quentin DeRanck.” France’s Anti-Terrorist Sub-Directorate (SDAT) is handling the investigation, Le Figaro said.
Several days after the fatal shooting, French authorities arrested 11 people, seven of whom were suspected of participating in the attack, while four others were accused of aiding and abetting them. Six of them have been charged “Voluntary Homicide” And with a “Complication by provocation.”
Media reports have linked the suspect to the now-defunct ultra-left group, the Jeune Garde (Young Guard), founded by Raphael Arnault, a member of parliament for the left-wing La France Insoumise (LFI) party. Two of the arrested are believed to have worked as parliamentary assistants to MLAs.
La France Insoumise has denied any involvement in the crime and has been accused by authorities “Political manipulation.”
Reacting to Derank’s death last month, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned it “An atmosphere of ideological hatred permeating many nations.” His statement drew a rebuke from French President Emmanuel Macron, who suggested everyone else should “Stay on your own path.”
At the same time, the US State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism posted a message on X, which was later shared by Washington’s embassy in France. “Violent Radical Leftism on the Rise.”
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French right rallies on ‘lynching’ of activist: What to know
The comment sparked a diplomatic row between Paris and Washington, with US Ambassador Charles Kushner summoned by the French Foreign Ministry. Several days later, Reuters, citing an anonymous source, reported that the ambassador called French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and did not make the pledge. “interference” In the domestic affairs of France.
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