Fascists go on attack in French streets

Far right rallying after the death of Quentin Deranque

Fascist mobs are on the rampage in France. They have attacked left wing and union offices, marauding through neighbourhoods in groups ranging from dozens to hundreds.

The fascists are trying to paint the left as violent after the death of a far right activist last weekend.

But Quentin Deranque died as a result of injuries sustained in a fascist attack on a meeting with left wing LFI party MEP Rima Hassan.

Fascists have targeted offices of LFI, the left wing party led by Jean-Luc Melenchon, in Paris, Lille, Castres, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Montpellier, Angouleme and elsewhere. And there was a bomb threat against LFI’s national headquarters on Wednesday.

Far right organisations put on tributes to Deranque in several cities on Sunday. In Paris, hundreds joined a tribute—and elected officials from Marine Le Pen’s fascist RN attended.

Les Natifs, a far right group, posted a video of its activists throwing fake blood on the LFI headquarters in Paris and putting up posters attacking “Antifa” and Melenchon.

“In Paris, there was a gathering of fascists and dozens of them walked through the 20th district, a left wing neighbourhood,” Mathieu, an organiser for anti-racist group Marche Des Solidarites, told Socialist Worker.

“They walked with Nazi signs. The situation is going to escalate and has already escalated.”

The police have arrested 11 people in connection to Deranque’s death.

Last Thursday, Rima spoke at a conference at the Lyon Institute of Political Sciences.

A handful of activists from the fascist group Nemesis mobilised to protest and disrupt the conference. They held a white banner with the slogan, “Islamo-leftists out of our universities”.

Students confronted the far right, chanting anti-fascist slogans and tried to snatch the racist banner away.

Nemesis leader Alice Cordier said that the group had organised a security team to “intervene” if the group was confronted.

Cordier claimed this security was “lynched by an armed militia”, and blamed the anti-fascist group Jeune Garde, or Young Guard. The group was created in response to rising far right attacks in Lyon and was dissolved last June.

But an anti-fascist student told the Mediapart outlet that upon leaving the institute, a group of fascists “jumped on them”. Videos of the attack, released this week, appear to show the Nemesis “security group” launching the first projectiles and assaults.

There was a confrontation and other footage has circulated online of a group of individuals violently beating three men.

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Nemesis reported that one of its security guards, Deranque, was taken to hospital in critical condition and put in an induced coma. He died from a severe brain injury on Saturday.

Deranque was active in far right group Action Francaise. The StreetPress outlet describes the group as “one of the main training grounds for far right leaders” in France.

And Deranque had joined the fascist group Allobroges Bourgoin, whose members marched with Nazis on 9 May in 2025. Deranque himself was present on that march.

Fascist group Luminis, which carries out patrols reserved for white people, described Deranque as “a nationalist activist whose radical commitment far exceeded the role of ‘security agent’ for Nemesis”.

It went on to say, “Quentin’s last words were, ‘Let’s do it again, guys.’ Like him, the fight to the death makes us happy.”

The Deranque family’s lawyer, Fabrice Rajon, claimed Deranque “was not a security agent or the member of any kind of protection group”.

The result of Deranque’s death has been a witchhunt of the left. Politicians and the media have attacked LFI, trying to link the party to the killing.

They focus heavily on how the Young Guard’s former spokesperson, Raphael Arnault, is now an LFI MP. And the anti-fascist group provided protection at some LFI rallies previously.

A spokesperson for France’s centrist government attacked LFI as “encouraging a climate of violence for years”. She said there is “a moral responsibility on the part of LFI” for the attack.

Justice minister Gerald Darmanin—who has spearheaded racist laws—said, “It is the far left that killed him. Of that there is no question.”

Marion Marechal—MEP and niece of Le Pen—said, “The militia of Melenchon has killed and has blood on its hands.”

The Labour-type PS party has stated it won’t form any alliance with LFI in the upcoming local elections due to its links with the Young Guard.

And the French parliament held a minute silence for the fascist activist this week, paying tribute to the death of a neo-Nazi.

Sections of the media have repeated far right talking points of anti-fascists being “domestic terrorists”.

But in Lyon, a historic stronghold of the far right in France, fascists have a long history of violence. They have targeted left wing gatherings, organisations’ headquarters and conducted racist and homophobic attacks.

Local news outlet Rue89Lyon carried out a survey of assaults and hate crimes committed by the far right in the city.

Since 2010, there have been 102 violent acts recorded. Some 70 percent of these have gone without legal responses. These act include beatings of union members and violence against left wing activists and LGBT+ people.

Anti-fascists are right to confront those whose political ambition is the destruction of left wing organisations and murder of minorities.

The far right street mobilisations come ahead of the municipal elections in March, where the fascist RN is looking to make advances.

Mass anti-racist mobilisations can help to turn the tide, with Marche Des Solidarites organising a protest against racism and fascism on 14 March.

As Mathieu explained, “We are planning on calling huge marches all around the country against racism and fascism in solidarity with all of the organisations attacked by fascists and a call to take the streets against fascism.

“That will be our riposte, our counter-protest to the situation. And we will call not to wait for 14 March to organise in every neighbourhood to block street fascists from appearing in any way possible.”