Thousands of people marched in southeastern France on Sunday under tight security in tribute to a far-right activist whose killing, blamed on the hard left, has heightened political tensions across the country.
The crowd—many dressed in black and some covering their faces—processed through Lyon carrying flowers and placards bearing images of Quentin Deranque alongside slogans reading “Justice for Quentin” and “The extreme left kills."
The 23-year-old died from head injuries after clashes between radical left-wing and far-right supporters on the fringes of a demonstration against a politician from La France Insoumise (LFI) in Lyon on Saturday.
Authorities deployed extensive security measures, including drones, amid fears of renewed unrest at the rally, which drew at least 3,200 participants, according to local officials.
Hours before the march, President Emmanuel Macron urged “everyone to remain” calm. He said the government would meet on Monday to discuss so-called “violent action groups” following the fatal assault, which has inflamed tensions between left and right ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
“In the Republic, no violence is legitimate,” Macron said.
The procession concluded without major clashes, although police said one person threw an egg from a building and another was detained for carrying a knife and hammer. Further arrests are possible as authorities investigate suspects seen making Nazi salutes, racist remarks and homophobic insults during the march, footage of which circulated online, the local prefecture said.
Some residents along the route displayed banners from their windows reading “Lyon is antifa” and “Love is greater than hate”.
Defend his memory
Mourners had earlier gathered at the church Deranque attended, and his portrait was hung from the façade of the administrative headquarters of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
Laurent, a friend of Deranque, said he had come “to defend his memory” in the setting “where Quentin expressed himself most intensely, namely the Catholic Church and the traditional rite.”
One of the rally’s organisers, Aliette Espieux, a former spokesperson for the anti-abortion movement, told AFP she had hoped for a “peaceful tribute”. However, she criticised Jordan Bardella, president of the far-right National Rally, who had urged supporters not to attend. “I don’t find that very honourable,” she said.
According to the Deranque family’s lawyer, Fabien Rajon, his parents did not take part in the rally and had hoped it would proceed “without violence” and “without political statements”.
Several ultra-right groups, including Deranque’s nationalist Allobroges Bourgoin faction, had heavily promoted the march on social media, fuelling concerns among authorities.
Ahead of the event, some residents boarded up ground-floor windows. “At my age, I’m not going to play the tough guy. If I have to go out, I’ll avoid the places where they’re marching,” said Jean Echeverria, 87, a Lyon resident. “They’ll just keep fighting each other—it never ends.”
The rally went ahead despite calls from Lyon’s Green mayor, Gregory Doucet, and LFI coordinator Manuel Bompard for it to be banned.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez declined to prohibit the gathering, saying he needed to “strike a balance between maintaining public order and freedom of expression."
Deranque’s death has drawn international reaction. A US State Department official, Sarah Rogers, described the killing on Saturday as “terrorism” and claimed that “violent radical leftism is on the rise”.
Her comments came a day after Macron responded to remarks by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, urging her not to interfere in France’s internal affairs.
Six men suspected of involvement in the fatal assault have been charged, while a parliamentary assistant to a radical left-wing MP has also been charged with complicity.
