Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin accuses France’s ultra-left of killing a far-right youth in Lyon, escalating political tensions ahead of the 2027 election.
PARIS: France’s justice minister has directly blamed the “ultra-left” for the fatal beating of a young far-right activist, a killing that has sharply escalated political tensions.
Gerald Darmanin (pic) told RTL television that “it was clearly the ultra left that killed him”. He accused hard-left politicians, including from the France Unbowed (LFI) party, of fuelling violence with their rhetoric.
“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,” Darmanin said. The victim, identified only as 23-year-old Quentin, died after being attacked in Lyon on Thursday.
He was reportedly providing security at a protest against an appearance by LFI MEP Rima Hassan at a university when assaulted. The Lyon prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into suspected aggravated manslaughter.
Darmanin also accused Hassan and LFI leader Jean-Luc Melenchon of “not having a word to say for the family of the young man”. LFI lawmaker Eric Coquerel condemned “all political violence” but said activists responsible for Hassan’s security were not involved.
He pointed instead to a “context” in Lyon marked by violence from “far-right groups”. According to the far-right-aligned Nemesis collective, Quentin was ambushed by “anti-fascist” activists.
The family’s lawyer stated Quentin appeared to have been ambushed by “organised and trained individuals, vastly superior in number and armed, some with their faces masked”. With tensions intensifying ahead of the 2027 presidential election, centrist President Emmanuel Macron has called for “calm” and “restraint”.
Three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen demanded the “barbarians responsible for this lynching” be brought to justice.
