Jean-Luc Mélenchon, at a rally in Lyon, on February 26, 2026. BRUNO AMSELLEM/DIVERGENCE FOR LE MONDE
id the second round of the 2027 presidential election begin on February 14, 2026, after far-right activist Quentin Deranque died in the city of Lyon? It seems that a face-off between the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) and radical left La France Insoumise (LFI) parties is taking shape, one that the far right has dreamed of and Jean-Luc Mélenchon's LFI has theorized about for several years, under the slogan of "them against us."
Since the tragic incident occurred in Lyon, the far right, the right and part of President Emmanuel Macron's party have seized on it as an opportunity to cast Mélenchon as the republic's new political pariah, calling for forming a "united front" against him. This anti-LFI front, a complete reversal of the traditional republican front against the far right, is not, however, something Mélenchon seems bothered by.
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Mélenchon, in Lyon, defends allies accused of participating in fatal beating
