PARIS — Nine people, including an aide to a far-left lawmaker, have been arrested in France following the murder of a far-right activist by suspected far-left activists in the southeastern city of Lyon.Quentin Deranque, a 23-year-old maths student, died in hospital on Saturday, two days after being beaten and kicked about the head by a group of masked young men in Lyon.The violent incident happened after a protest demonstration by far-right feminists outside the venue where Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan was speaking.Lyon prosecutor Thierry Dran announced the arrests of four suspects, followed shortly after by five more, bringing the total to nine — seven men and two women.The AFP news agency, citing a source following the case, said six of the detainees are suspected of participating in the beating, while three of the suspects aided them. The arrests confirm what has widely been reported: that those suspected of the murder are far-left militants linked to a banned group called La Jeune Garde (Young Guard).An assistant to Raphael Arnault, a lawmaker of the far-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, was among those detained. Arnault said the aide had “stopped all parliamentary work”.“It is now up to the investigation to determine responsibility”, he added on X.The head of the LFI, Jean-Luc Melenchon, said those who had attacked Deranque had “dishonored” themselves by acting with apparent lethal intent.“When it comes to violence, whether it be defensive or offensive … not all blows are allowed,” he said.The beating of Deranque took place on Thursday, on the sidelines of a far-right protest against Hassan’s appearance in Lyon. An anti-immigration collective called Nemesis said Deranque had been at the protest in Lyon to protect its members.Nemesis has blamed the killing on La Jeune Garde, an anti-fascist youth group co-founded by Arnault before he was elected to parliament.La Jeune Garde, which was dissolved in June, has denied any links to the “tragic events”, while Arnault has called the killing horrific.According to the AFP, another source close to the probe described Thursday’s attack as “a pitched battle between members of the far left and the far right”.A video of the alleged attack broadcast by TF1 television shows a dozen people hitting three others lying on the ground, two of whom manage to escape.A witness told AFP that “people were hitting each other with iron bars”.Lawmakers held a minute of silence on Tuesday afternoon at France’s National Assembly in memory of Deranque, while a march is expected to be held in Lyon next Saturday in his honour.While the government has singled out the LFI and La Jeune Garde, the Lyon prosecutor on Monday declined to comment on those claims, only specifying that the incident was being investigated as a voluntary homicide and aggravated assault.On the far right, Marine Le Pen, the presidential hopeful from the National Rally, condemned the “barbarians responsible for this lynching”.Her lieutenant, Jordan Bardella, who heads her party, said after the arrests that the LFI’s Melenchon had “moral and political responsibility” for what happened, claiming he had “opened the doors of the National Assembly to suspected murderers”.Opinion polls put the far right in the lead for the presidency in 2027, when centrist President Emmanuel Macron will have to step down after the maximum two consecutive terms in office.The murder is putting huge pressure on LFI, on its 70 MPs, and on its veteran leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who is a likely contender in next year’s presidential election.On Sunday, Mélenchon said his party had “nothing to do with this story. Those who accuse us are committing a libel.”We express our consternation, but also our empathy and compassion for [Deranque’s] family and friends. We have said dozens of times that we oppose all forms of violence,” he said.On Monday, state prosecutor Thierry Dran told a news conference that Deranque was kicked and punched by “at least six” individuals, and that the post-mortem examination showed fatal damage to his skull and brain. — Agencies
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