France arrests 2 more over fatal beating of far-right activist, 11 now detained

Quentin Deranque, 23, died after attack at Lyon protest; hard-left lawmaker fires aide who was among those detained over suspected ‘intentional homicide’ during university clash

By AFP 18 February 2026, 2:22 pm

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This undated and unlocated handout photograph obtained on February 17, 2026 from the Deranque family's lawyer shows a portrait of French far-right activist Quentin Deranque, killed the week before on the sidelines of a far-right protest against a left-wing politician speaking at a university in the southeastern city of Lyon. (FAMILY HANDOUT / AFP)

French authorities arrested two more suspects on Wednesday over the fatal beating of a far-right activist last week, a prosecutor said, bringing the number of those detained for questioning to 11.

Quentin Deranque, 23, died after sustaining a severe brain injury when he was attacked by at least six people last week on the sidelines of a far-right protest against a left-wing politician speaking at a university in the southeastern city of Lyon.

The latest man detained, suspected of having a direct link to the violence, and his partner, suspected of having helped him evade justice, were taken into custody as part of the investigation of “intentional homicide,” said Thierry Dran, the prosecutor for the southeastern city of Lyon.

Six of the other detainees are suspected of having participated in the beating and three of aiding them, a source following the case said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

An assistant to Raphael Arnault, a member of parliament from the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, was among the first four detained, the source said.

Arnault said he was firing the assistant.

MP Raphael Arnault delivers a speech during a parliamentary niche at the National Assembly in Paris, on January 22, 2026. (Thomas SAMSON / AFP)

This comes after French Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Sunday the “ultra-left” in France was behind the fatal beating, specifically accusing those within the LFI party of fueling violence with their language.

“It was clearly the ultra-left that killed him,” Darmanin told the Cologne-based RTL television. “There are indeed speeches, particularly from France Unbowed and the ultra-left, which unfortunately lead to unbridled violence on social networks and then in the physical world.”

An alleged video of the attack broadcast by the French TF1 television shows a dozen people hitting three others lying on the ground, two of whom manage to escape.

The family’s lawyer said in a statement that Quentin appeared to have been ambushed by “organized and trained individuals, vastly superior in number, and armed, some with their faces masked.”

The incident has fueled tension between France’s far right and hard left ahead of municipal elections in March and the 2027 presidential race, in which the far-right National Rally (RN) party is seen as having its best chance yet of winning.

Centrist President Emmanuel Macron has called for “calm” and “restraint.”