Macron Urges Calm After Thousands March In Lyon Over Killing Of Far-Right Activist

Last Updated:February 22, 2026, 09:56 IST

Seven people are under investigation over Deranque’s death, including a former aide to a lawmaker from the hard-left La France Insoumise party, which has condemned the killing.

Thousands of people marched in Lyon on Saturday after the killing of far-right activist Quentin Deranque, who was beaten to death last week by people described as hard-left activists. The incident has shocked the country.

Many in the crowd wore surgical masks and sunglasses to hide their faces. They chanted “we are at home" and “antifa assassin".

Local authorities said they had reported Nazi salutes and racist insults seen in videos from the march to prosecutors.

Police had feared violence in Lyon, a city known for both far-right and antifascist groups. Although the march had mostly dispersed by 8:00 p.m., extra police remained deployed overnight.

Macron Urged For Calm

French President Emmanuel Macron urged calm ahead of the rallies and said he would meet ministers next week to discuss violent groups.

Former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin called the killing of Deranque, 23, “France’s Charlie Kirk moment", referring to the fatal shooting of a U.S. conservative activist last year.

Seven people are under formal investigation over Deranque’s death, including a former aide to a lawmaker from the hard-left La France Insoumise party, which has condemned the killing.

According to Le Monde, it was the first killing allegedly carried out by hard-left individuals since 2022.

Reuters has reported at least five killings allegedly linked to far-right individuals during the same period, including one being investigated as terrorism.

The march was organised by anti-abortion activist Aliette Espieux, and several far-right groups said they would take part. The far-right party Rally urged supporters to avoid the rally over fears of unrest.

Small counter-groups were also present, shouting “we are all antifascist", and a banner reading “Lyon is antifa" was seen hanging from a nearby window, according to footage aired by BFMTV.

Lyon Mayor Grégory Doucet had tried to block the march. He said he was concerned about calls for French and European far-right groups to travel to the city.

“We have fought against far-right violence during our term. We have managed to close down many premises, to shut down organisations because we know that certain individuals are violent and so we were worried," he said.

Local authorities estimated that around 3,200 people took part in the march. Smaller demonstrations were also planned in other French towns.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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