French police arrest 11 hard-left political party members over killing of far-right activist

PARIS- Eleven people, including an aide to a French hard-left lawmaker, have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the killing of a far-right activist that has exposed deep political tensions in France ahead of elections.

Quentin Deranque, 23, died on Saturday after he was beaten by hard-left activists outside a conference in Lyon given by Rima Hassan, a member of the European Parliament from the far-left France Unbowed (LFI). Videos of the deadly confrontation were widely shared on social media. Hassan and other members of the LFI have condemned the killing.

The Lyon prosecutors' office on Wednesday announced two further arrests, bringing the total to 11. LFI lawmaker Raphael Arnault on Tuesday confirmed that his parliamentary assistant was among those detained, adding the aide had "stopped all parliamentary work".

"It is now up to the investigation to determine responsibility," he said on X.

The incident reflects increasing polarisation in France, where both the hard left and hard right have capitalised on frustration with the minority centrist government ahead of local elections next month and a presidential vote next year.

Speaking on social media, LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon called for calm. "Let's not fuel the incitement to take the law into one's own hands," he said.

On Monday, Lyon prosecutor Thierry Dran said a murder probe had been opened into Deranque's killing, which has led to widespread condemnation of the LFI.

Jordan Bardella, party president of the far-right National Rally, said Mélenchon had "opened the doors of the National Assembly to presumed murderers."

After Deranque's killing, French President Emmanuel Macron also appealed for calm.

Reporting by Sophie Louet and Gabriel Stargardter in Paris, Charlotte Van Campenhout in Amsterdam, Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Philippa Fletcher/Reuters