Far-left French political party linked to far-right activist

Paris, France — French far-left party France Insoumise said Wednesday it had to evacuate its headquarters in Paris following a “bomb threat,” after being accused of having some responsibility in the murder of a far-right activist beaten to death on the sidelines of a protest.

“The national headquarters of the LFI has just been evacuated after a bomb threat. Police services are on the scene. All employees and activists are safe,” party coordinator Manuel Bompard said in X.

The evacuation came hours after French authorities arrested two more suspects in the fatal beating of far-right political activist Quentin Deranque last week. The arrests, announced by a Lyon city prosecutor, brought to 11 the number of people detained for questioning over the murder, including eight men and three women.

Deranque, 23, died after suffering a serious brain injury when he was attacked by at least six people last week on the sidelines of a far-right protest against a left-wing politician who was speaking at a university in Lyon, southeastern France.

The last detainee, suspected of having a direct link to the violence, and his partner, suspected of having helped him evade justice, were arrested as part of the investigation for “intentional homicide,” said Thierry Dran, Lyon prosecutor.

Six of the other detainees are suspected of having participated in the beating and three of helping them, said a source following the case, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

An assistant to Raphaël Arnault, a parliamentarian for the far-left France Insoumise (LFI) party, is among the first four detained, the source told News. Arnault said he was firing assistant Jacques-Elie Favrot.

In a statement, lawyer Bertrand Sayn said Wednesday that Favrot “formally denies being responsible for this tragedy,” referring to Deranque’s murder.

Arnault was a co-founder of the “Jeune Garde Antifasciste” (Young Anti-Fascist Guard), a radical far-left movement launched in 2018 that focused on opposing far-right, nationalist and neo-Nazi movements in France. It was created in response to the activities of the far-right organization Bastion Social, which was banned in 2019. La Jeune Garde was banned by the French government in June 2025, following accusations that it was inciting violence.

The group has challenged the dissolution order in French courts and a ruling is expected this year.

Deranque’s murder has fueled tension between France’s far-right and far-left ahead of municipal elections in March and the looming 2027 presidential race.

French President Emmanuel Macron, in a social media post over the weekend after Deranque’s murder, said that “no cause, no ideology will ever justify the murder.”

“It is essential to prosecute, bring to justice and condemn the perpetrators of this atrocity,” Macron said. “Hate that kills has no place in our society. I ask for calm, moderation and respect.”

LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon said in a message posted on social media that the party was “facing the most ridiculous, most unfair and most dangerous accusations” over the incident, adding a call for “everyone to remain calm and composed. No escalation. Observe, learn, reflect.”