A homicide committed by antifa in France has brought serious consequences for the far left.

 

A tribute for Quentin Deranque. BBC/AFP/Getty. 

A homicide committed by an antifa group in Lyon France has brought serious consequences for the Far Left. BBC. Quentin Deranque, a 23 year old nationalist activist was providing unofficial security for a nationalist feminist group called Nemesis when he was attacked by the antifa group La Jeune Garde (Young Guard). He and two of his comrades were attacked by the group and Deranque was seen laying on the ground and getting kicked in the head. He had been able to get up but later died due to brain and skull injuries. His death has become a rallying cry for the right in France who consider him a martyr and even centrist President Emmanuel Macron has condemned the attack. 

🔴 Mort de Quentin Deranque : la victime a été frappée par au moins 6 individus recherchés. Le jeune militant nationaliste de 23 ans est décédé d'un traumatisme crânien majeur. Une enquête pour homicide volontaire a été ouverte. #JT20h pic.twitter.com/5SMS3ETyLr

— Le20h-France Télévisions (@le20hfrancetele) February 16, 2026

My Comment:

 Some notes on the context of this attack. It's not a mistake when I wrote that the Nemesis group is both right wing and feminist. That would be unheard of in an American context, but it's a real thing in Europe, and for good reason. Some feminists in Europe believe that Islam, an obviously male-dominated religion, is a huge threat to women, and it's hard to argue otherwise. Indeed, given how many Muslims treat women, I think we would see the same thing in the United States if we has similar levels of immigration, legal or otherwise, from Muslim countries (or India for that matter). 

Regardless, this was a pretty obvious consequence of not having enough security for this event. Deranque was trying to protect the Nemesis protesters from antifa but was unable to do so. What should have happened is that once the skirmish began, police should have broken it up. But from what I have seen the cops weren't even there. 

And this incident also shows how dangerous these kinds of street fights are. Deranque was already on the ground when the antifa attacked him by kicking him in the head. It's little wonder why he died, getting kicked in the head is a great way to damage your brain, though it's unclear if that was the only cause of his death. Regardless, it's a pretty good argument for why even a fistfight can result in a death.

I also think that this is going to be the last straw for antifa in France. Supposedly the Young Guards is already a banned organization and I can't imagine that changing now. They murdered Deranque in cold blood for no reason whatsoever. The answer for a couple of women protesting a speaker they didn't like because they are Muslim is a peaceful counterprotest, not a physical attack on a young man that wanted to protect the woman from being attacked themselves.

But antifa doesn't believe in peaceful protest. They think that their enemies are fascist (an in the vast majority of cases, they are not) so that justifies anything you can do against them, including murder. It's honestly surprising that there aren't more antifa inspired murders, but that may be because they focus on street fights like this. 

As for France itself, this is going to have an obvious impact on municipal elections next month, especially in Lyon. With Macron being a lame duck and the far right already ascending, it's going to be even more popular now. Given that the victim in this case was pretty sympathetic (he was defending women) and the attackers are not (they were attacking women and literally kicked a man while he was already down) I would not be surprised if the far right cleans up in the next elections.