Jean-Luc Mélenchon in Lyon, February 26, 2026. BRUNO AMSELLEM/DIVERGENCE FOR LE MONDE
Two weeks after the death of 23-year-old far-right activist Quentin Deranque, who was fatally beaten by members of an antifascist group in Lyon on February 14, hard-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon hit back on Thursday, February 26, during a rally in support of his party's candidate in Lyon's mayoral election.
The ties between Mélenchon's La France Insoumise (LFI) party and Jeune Garde, the banned antifascist group to which the suspects are suspected of having belonged, have been denounced from the left to the far right. In response, Mélenchon said a "trap" had been "deliberately set up by Némésis, a group of young women who, as they themselves admit, serve as bait to attract antifascist activists and then provoke fights, since they are linked to far-right groups in Lyon." He received a standing ovation from the packed audience at the Lyon rally.
"Everything must be examined," he said, recalling prior contacts between Némésis and identitarian activists, reported by L'Humanité daily. According to Mélenchon, Némésis intentionally created the conditions for the initial brawl. "They wanted an incident so that armed, helmeted, masked individuals would appear. (...) A criminal organization!" he said, calling for the banning of Némésis.
