A 23-year-old conservative French student died on Saturday following an alleged attack by the radical Antifa leftists in Lyon earlier this week.
The student, identified only as Quentin, was fatally injured on the sidelines of a demonstration at the Sciences Po university campus in Lyon organised by the right-wing women’s group Collectif Némésis, which protests against migrant violence against women and girls in Europe.
Némésis had gathered on Thursday to protest against a lecture at the campus by far-left Syrian-born MEP Rima Hassan, a member of the pro-mass migration La France Insoumise party, which has faced accusations of kowtowing to Islamist groups in France.
According to Le Figaro, the 23-year-old was one of around fifteen students asked to provide protection for the women of Némésis. They were reportedly approached by “several dozen anti-fascist activists” who launched into violent attacks, allegedly including the beating of Quentin.
According to an account of the incident from Némésis, around 30 “antifascists knocked him to the ground and beat him severely, leaving him for dead in the street. Quentin was thrown to the ground, his head hitting the ground repeatedly, and then he was kicked repeatedly. His attackers were masked, armed with knuckle-dusters and tear gas, leaving little doubt about the premeditation of their attack.”
After initially being declared “brain dead”, Quentin ultimately succumbed to his injuries and died, the Lyon prosecutor’s office said on Saturday.
In a statement to the press, prosecutors said: “The investigation is ongoing and is now being conducted on charges of aggravated manslaughter, in addition to aggravated assault under three circumstances.”
Quentin’s family attorney described him as being “a 23-year-old mathematics student who played tennis and studied philosophy” and maintained that he “always defended his convictions non-violently”.
While he has been involved in nationalist activist circles, Le Figaro reported that he had recently become more interested in religious movements rather than politics.
The Némésis group claimed that those on the ground during the demonstration on Thursday recognised a parliamentary aide to La France Insoumise MP Raphaël Arnault. They also claimed that the aide is an active member of the Jeune Garde (Young Guard) Antifa cell in Lyon. The group, which was co-founded by Arnault, was banned last year by the government for inciting violence. Arnault, who was elected to the National Assembly despite having been revealed to be on the government’s extremist watch list, has also reportedly been convicted of violent assault.
At the time of this reporting, local prosecutors have yet to say whether the Young Gard was implicated in the attack on Quentin.
Nevertheless, a wave of condemnations has poured in from across the political spectrum, including from French President Emmanuel Macron, who said: “In Lyon, Quentin was the victim of an unprecedented outburst of violence. He lost his life at just 23 years old. To his family and loved ones, I send my thoughts and the support of the Nation.
“In the Republic, no cause, no ideology will ever justify killing. On the contrary, the very purpose of our institutions is to civilise debates and protect the free expression of arguments. Pursuing, bringing to justice and convicting the perpetrators of this infamy is essential. The hatred that kills has no place among us. I call for calm, restraint and respect.”
The leader of the populist National Rally party, Marine Le Pen, said: “After clinging to life, Quentin breathed his last. To his family and loved ones, shattered by this terrible ordeal, I send my heartfelt thoughts and my deepest compassion. To the unfathomable pain of losing a child must not follow the unbearable impunity of the barbarians responsible for this lynching. It will be for justice to judge and condemn with the utmost severity this criminal act of unprecedented violence.”
However, the leader of the far-left La France Insoumise party, and supporter of the Young Gard Antifa cell, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, refused to condemn left-wing violence and instead attempted to portray his far-left party as the victim of right-wing violence.
“This night, our premises and local offices were attacked across the country following the call from Retailleau and Le Pen, who covered for and repeated completely baseless accusations against La France Insoumise members, exploiting the tragedy that occurred in Lyon,” Mélenchon wrote on Saturday. “The violence of the far right has already been directed against several of our meetings and our leaders without any reaction from the authorities. I call on Insoumise to exercise the utmost vigilance.”
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