- By Shibra Arshad
- Sun, 22 Feb 2026 05:55 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Seeking justice for a far-right activist who was killed earlier this month, thousands of people in southeastern France came on streets on Saturday, February 21. The incident has sparked unrest in the country, as protestors are blaming the killing of Quentin Deranque in Lyon on the far left. Deranque was allegedly beaten to death by hard-left activists last week, shocking the country.
Thousands of protestors who held the march carried flowers and placards bearing the pictures of Deranque and signs reading “justice for Quentin” and “the extreme left kills.” The 23-year-old activist died from head injuries after being brutally attacked during clashes between left and right-wing protestors at the Lyon Institute of Political Studies on February 12.
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Many protestors wearing surgical masks and sunglasses were raising chants like ‘we are at home’ and ‘antifa assassin’.
A heavy police force was deployed at the protest site as nearly 3200 people participated in the protests. Lyon is a concentration of both far-right and anti-fascist groups, so police were concerned about the event turning violent and deployed drone cameras as well.
President Calls For Calm As Political Tension Rises
President of France, Emmanuel Macron, urged calm ahead of the protest on Saturday and assured that he would hold a meeting with ‘violent groups’ next week. The former Prime Minister of Dominique de Villepin called the killing of a far-right activist France’s Charlie Kirk moment, referring to last year's shooting of the US conservative activist, which has ignited unrest across the country ahead of the 2027 Presidential Elections.
As per the police, the protest largely remained peaceful, with one person arrested for carrying a knife and hammer during the protest. Seven people have been taken under formal investigation in connection with the killing of the far-right activist. Those arrested include an aide to a lawmaker for the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, who had condemned the killing.
The Mayor of Lyon, Gregory Doucet, told reporters that he was worried about the calls of far right groupd from Europe and France to march to Lyon. He also attempted to stop the march on Saturday.
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International Reactions
A US State Department official described the killing as ‘terrorism’. On the other hand, Macron warned international leaders against interfering in France’s domestic matters, as the foreign attention around the incident grew.