Close to 3,000 people (mostly dressed in black, many with faces covered and sporting tattoos echoing fascist symbols) marched in Lyon on February 21 to honor Quentin Deranque, a member of a neo-Nazi group who died after suffering blows to the head in a clash with what are believed to be antifascist activists.

Media reports, including those by L’Humanité and Mediapart, describe an intense atmosphere where, despite organizers’ attempts to minimize outbursts in order to whitewash the event, racist insults were directed at passers-by and reporters not affiliated with right-wing outlets were obstructed in their work.

Chants against France Unbowed (La France Insoumise, LFI) were also noted, as the left party has been targeted by a smear and intimidation campaign in the aftermath of Deranque’s death. Over the past week, dozens of LFI representatives and candidates reported threats, while the party’s national headquarters was evacuated last week due to bomb threats. “I’m going to kill all the crooks, leftists, and other n*****s,” the threat sent to LFI read. “You’re going to pay a hundred times over for having killed Quentin. We’re going to do some nasty work in 2027 [presidential election year].”

Read more: French left targeted by smear campaign following death of far-right activist

The Lyon march was part of an attempt to shape Deranque into a martyr figure for the French far right and use his death to discredit antifascist groups, including those providing self-defense support in areas targeted by neo-Nazis, as well as the parliamentary left. Organizations leading the charge (including xenophobic women’s group Némésis) have been saluted by far-right parliamentary groups.

In the days following the events in Lyon, these groups have been revealed to have been in direct contact with neofascist collectives, that even last year were involved in planning provocations against local antifascist movements (despite trying to paint a non-violent picture of themselves in public). An investigation published by L’Humanité, for example, revealed that members of the Lyon chapter of Némésis had developed a strategy as early as October 2025 to offer their activists to serve as “bait” while neo-Nazi militants lurked around for antifascists near faculties and in other public spaces.

Read more: French trade unions respond to fascist attacks in Paris

Yet the far right is not the only force on the political spectrum manipulating the situation to discredit the left. Conservatives and liberal politicians have long sought to label LFI an “extreme left” party whose program leads to violence. These defamations have intensified since mid-February, and many believe their aim is to undermine the party’s chances in the 2027 election.

French officials reject comments on the situation by Italy and the US

However, conservative and liberal forces found themselves opposite foreign politicians capitalizing on the same episode. When Italy’s far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni referenced Deranque’s death, writing that he had been “overwhelmed by a climate of [left-led] ideological hatred that spans several countries” and represented “a wound for the whole of Europe,” French President Emmanuel Macron criticized her statements, saying that Meloni should not interfere in other countries’ internal affairs. “I’m always struck by how people who are nationalists, who don’t want to be bothered in their own country, are always the first ones to comment on what’s happening in other countries,” he was quoted saying.

Comments shared by the US Embassy in France claiming that “violent radical leftism is on the rise and its role in Quentin Deranque’s death demonstrates the threat it poses to public safety,” announcing the US would “continue monitoring the situation,” caused even stronger reactions. The French Foreign Ministry announced the US ambassador would be summoned, with minister Jean-Noël Barrot stating the government denounces attempts to manipulate the situation for “political aims” and requires “no lessons in dealing with violence,” “especially not by international reactionary forces.”

Despite Macron and Barrot’s apparent newfound courage towards other political figures, progressives insist that authorities failed to act preventively on the day Deranque participated in the clash, thus contributing to the fatal outcome – but also to stop the far-right demonstration from taking over Lyon, leaving the doors open for more threats to arise.

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