Nine people have been arrested in France after a right-wing student was beaten to death by a group of masked men.Maths student and activist Quentin Deranque, just 23, died of a brain injury in hospital on Saturday, two days after being violently beaten and kicked by a gang of masked far-left activists in Lyon.Mr Deranque had been providing security at a protest against the appearance of left-wing MEP Rima Hassan at the Lyon branch of Sciences Po university.According to the right-wing Nemesis collective campaign group, the 23-year-old was part of its security team.
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After a police probe, Lyon prosecutor Thierry Dran announced the arrests of four suspects, then five others.Mr Dran said the student was kicked and punched by “at least six” individuals, and confirmed that post-mortem examinations showed fatal damage to his skull and brain.Six of the group are suspected of having participated in Mr Deranque’s beating, and three of aiding them, according to reports in France.Seven of those detained were men and two were women, a source told France24 – adding that more could be detained in the coming days.One of the arrestees is Jacques-Elie Favrot, a parliamentary assistant for a deputy from the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, led by Jean-Luc Melenchon.The deputy in question, Raphael Arnault, said the aide had “stopped all parliamentary work”.On Sunday, Mr Melenchon declared his party had “nothing to do with this story”.”Those who accuse us are committing a libel,” he added.”We express our consternation, but also our empathy and compassion for [Mr Deranque’s] family and friends. We have said dozens of times that we oppose all forms of violence,” he said.The right-wing feminist Nemesis group, which fights violence against Western women, blamed the killing on La Jeune Garde (the Young Guard), an “anti-fascist” group co-founded by Mr Arnault.The Young Guard denied any involvement in Mr Deranque’s killing.In footage from the scene obtained by French broadcaster TF1, three young men can be seen lying on the pavement being beaten by several individuals, while a cry of terror can be heard.LEFT-WING VIOLENCE – READ MORE:Masked pro-Palestine mob ‘threatens to behead UK university professor’Pro-Palestine vandals deface Pope John Paul II statue in latest outbreak of violence in ItalyInside the rise in political violence against conservatives amid ‘accelerating derangement of the woke left’Two of them escape – but the third, identified as the 23-year-old, remains motionless on the ground.Further videos show several more of the attackers walking past the victim, leaving him on the ground.Right-wing National Rally party firebrand Marine Le Pen has blasted the “barbarians responsible for this lynching”.Its current leader Jordan Bardella said after the arrests that Mr Melenchon bore “moral and political responsibility” for what happened, claiming he had “opened the doors of the National Assembly to suspected murderers”.Protesters in support of the 23-year-old were seen waving French flags in the streets carrying the words: “Killed for our sisters. Killed for France. Justice for Quentin,” after his death.On Tuesday afternoon, France’s National Assembly held a minute’s silence in Mr Deranque’s memory.A march is expected to be held in Lyon next Saturday in his honour.Mr Deranque’s death has sparked comparisons with the killing of Charlie Kirk, the influential conservative activist shot dead last September – which sent shockwaves around American politics.Tyler Robinson, 22, has been been charged with Mr Kirk’s murder.Utah, the state in which the activist was killed, has indicated it will pursue the death penalty should Robinson be found guilty of aggravated murder.Robinson faces additional counts including felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering, and committing a violent offence in the presence of a child.Under Utah law, a death sentence would mean Robinson could face execution by firing squad if convicted.
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