French lawmaker Raphaël Arnault, from the radical left party LFI, in front of the Assemblée Nationale in Paris, July 9, 2024. JULIEN MUGUET FOR LE MONDE
His seat, high up in the Assemblée, remained empty on Tuesday, February 17. Raphaël Arnault, a lawmaker from the radical-left party La France Insoumise (LFI), did not attend the weekly government questions session at the Assemblée Nationale. He has become the focal point of the political storm that has weakened Jean-Luc Mélenchon's movement since Quentin Deranque, an activist from the nationalist revolutionary movement, died in Lyon on Saturday, February 14. Investigators suspect that members of Jeune Garde, an antifascist group founded by Arnault in 2018, were involved in Deranque's assault two days earlier. Jeune Garde, an ally of LFI, was banned by the government in 2025.
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Who was Quentin Deranque, the far-right activist killed in Lyon?
Among the 11 people arrested were two of Arnault's parliamentary aides: Jacques-Elie Favrot, known as "Jef," and Romain C., who was recruited under the pseudonym of Romain Michel by Arnault. Favrot admitted to "acts of violence" but denied being responsible for the blows that caused Deranque's death, according to his lawyer. The president of the Assemblée Nationale, Yaël Braun-Pivet, stated that she had suspended the two men's access rights to the lower house of the French Parliament. A third man close to Arnault is also suspected of being involved.
