Jean-Luc Mélenchon held a press conference on Monday limited to 'new media' to reaffirm his support for the Jeune Garde, an antifascist group whose members are accused in the fatal lynching of Quentin Deranque in Lyon. The La France insoumise leader expressed his 'sympathy' and 'pride' toward these militants, despite growing criticism from within the left. This comes ten days after the death of the young nationalist militant on February 14, 2026.
On February 23, 2026, Jean-Luc Mélenchon organized a press conference at La Fabrique in Paris's 10th arrondissement, excluding traditional media like Le Monde, France Info, or Libération. He invited 'new media' such as Le Média and Blast, as well as left-leaning associations like Alerte Racisme and political content creators. 'I have no problem with the media, it's the media that has a problem with me,' he stated at the outset, before criticizing the 'major media' and television channels he compares to 'inquisition sessions'.
This intervention aims to address the controversy surrounding the death of Quentin Deranque, a 23-year-old mathematics student at Lyon 2 University, who was lynched on February 14 in Lyon by at least six ultraleft members close to the Jeune Garde. The group, dissolved in 2025, is suspected of involvement: Jacques-Élie Favrot, collaborator of LFI deputy Raphaël Arnault and co-founder of the Jeune Garde, was charged with 'complicity in voluntary homicide by instigation'. Mélenchon reiterated his 'sympathy' and 'pride' in having these militants as 'allies,' stating that the 'inadmissible act' in Lyon does not tarnish this bond. 'We will not chase comrade Arnault from our ranks,' he insisted.
He accused the identitarian feminist collective Némésis, whose security Deranque was providing during a protest against LFI MEP Rima Hassan's conference at Sciences Po Lyon, of setting up a 'plot to start a fight'. Mélenchon described Deranque as a 'neonazi' preparing a 'trap,' while lamenting the ban on such statements. Mathilde Panot, LFI group president in the Assembly, defended Arnault on BFMTV Sunday: 'He has nothing to do with it. He in no way endorses beating a man on the ground to death'.
Within the left, voices are calling for a break with LFI. At the Salon de l'agriculture, Raphaël Glucksmann ruled out any municipal alliance with the Insoumis: 'You will not see the Place publique logo with that of La France insoumise'. François Hollande lambasted 'the responsibility of Jean-Luc Mélenchon,' who has 'contributed to banalizing the far right,' and stated that socialists can no longer ally with LFI, labeled 'far left'. Mélenchon quipped: 'You are the left and I'm not? It's a joke!'.
On Saturday, February 21, a tribute march for Deranque gathered 3200 people in Lyon under heavy surveillance. The prosecutor's office opened two investigations for apology of crimes against humanity (Nazi salutes) and racist/homophobic insults. Meanwhile, Emmanuel Macron will meet officials on Tuesday to assess the fight against violent ultra or extreme groups, reviewing the 49 dissolutions since 2017, including that of the Jeune Garde. The president recalled: 'In the Republic, no violence is legitimate'.
