"La Jeune Garde, founded in Lyon in 2018, were politically inexperienced and had organised a series of sometimes violent confrontations with far-right groups. Members of the group, which was banned in 2025, are now suspected of involvement in a killing that has convulsed France. The victim, Quentin Deranque, was a 23-year-old mathematics student and a far-right activist."
"His close ties to the organisation date from 2023, when he and other LFI figures allegedly attended a Jeune Garde summer camp. The organisation offered him a committed base of young people at a time when LFI was trying to expand its appeal beyond institutional politics to young and grassroots activists."
"To many of Melenchon's critics however, his dogged commitment to what is now a proscribed group is yet further evidence of his unwillingness to admit to an error of judgment. To do so would be to recognise that his polarising strategy is flawed, if not dangerous."
In 2023, Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the radical left party La France Insoumise, publicly promoted La Jeune Garde, a young antifascist activist group founded in Lyon in 2018. The organization engaged in sometimes violent confrontations with far-right groups. In February 2025, Quentin Deranque, a 23-year-old far-right activist and mathematics student, died two days after a violent street confrontation allegedly involving Jeune Garde members during a protest against a conference by an LFI MEP. Eleven suspects, including a parliamentary aide, were arrested. The group was subsequently banned. Melenchon continues defending Jeune Garde despite the killing, maintaining ties dating from 2023 when he allegedly attended their summer camp. Critics view his continued support as evidence of poor judgment and a flawed polarizing political strategy.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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