French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday urged calm and restraint after the fatal beating of a 23-year-old French youth aligned with the far-right on the sidelines of a conference by a hard-left lawmaker in the southeastern city of Lyon.
The death of the young man — identified only as Quentin — has intensified tensions between France’s far-right and hard-left who are both eyeing 2027 presidential elections.
He had been in hospitalised in Lyon on Thursday after being attacked while providing what his supporters said was security for a protest against an appearance by hard-left MEP Rima Hassan at the Lyon branch of the Sciences Po university.
The office of the Lyon prosecutor on Saturday told AFP he had died of his wounds. An investigation has been opened into suspected aggravated manslaughter, it added.
Macron said on X that Quentin had been the victim of “an unprecedented outburst of violence.
“Hatred that kills has no place in our country. I call for calm, restraint and respect,” he added.
– ‘Organised’ attack –
According to the Nemesis collective, which is close to the far-right, Quentin was part of the security team responsible for ensuring the safety of its activists.
They were demonstrating against the conference by Hassan, who is known for her outspoken criticism of Israel.
The family’s lawyer said in a statement that Quentin appeared to have been ambushed by “organised and trained individuals, vastly superior in number and armed, some with their faces masked”.
Prosecutors have yet to give details on the circumstances of his death.
Nemesis accused members of a local anti-fascist association that was banned by the government in June of being behind the killing.
Three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, who is still hoping to stand in 2027 despite a graft conviction, said on X that the “barbarians responsible for this lynching” should be brought to justice.
With Quentin’s death sparking a wave of alarm across the political spectrum, concern also spread to the hard-left party of Hassan, France Unbowed (LFI).
“What I have feared for years in Lyon is continuing,” said LFI French parliament MP Raphael Arnault.
“I offer my condolences to the family of this young man and I hope that the truth will be uncovered about this tragedy,” he added.
Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) is the biggest single party by seats in the French lower house while the LFI is the biggest left-wing faction.
In the wake of the incident, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez urged authorities to “increase vigilance around political gatherings, as well as around campaign offices”.
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