The Flemish extreme-right and ethnic-nationalist group Voorpost has cancelled its demonstration in Brussels on Thursday evening following the death of Quentin Deranque, 23, a French student who was violently attacked during a far-right protest in Lyon, France.
Deranque died in hospital on Saturday – two days after being beaten and kicked about the head by a gang of masked individuals in Lyon. He had been placed in an induced coma.
Lyon prosecutor Thierry Dran said on Monday that Deranque had been beaten up by "at least six" masked people, and that the post-mortem examination showed fatal damage to his skull and brain.
The case has caused an uproar in France, as it appears to involve violence "between far-left and far-right organisations," judicial sources told the French news agency AFP.
'Paying tribute'
By organising a demonstration in Brussels, Voorpost said it wanted to pay tribute to Deranque. The organisation had close ties to violent paramilitary groups of the 1970s, but is still one of the most active organisations in the Dutch-speaking far-right world.
In Belgium, Voorpost is mainly known for subscribing to the "great replacement" conspiracy theory, and strongly opposing multiculturalism. In June 2024, eight of its members had to appear in court for terrorising asylum seekers at a hotel.
In the initial Facebook announcement of the event, Voorpost said that "no left-wing extremist murderer should be allowed to walk the streets without feeling ashamed of what they have done. But above all, they deserve the appropriate punishment."
However, around noon on Thursday, just a few hours before the demonstration was meant to happen, the extreme-right group posted that it was cancelling the event. "We have learned that various extreme left-wing groups are calling for active and violent disruption of this commemoration," the post said.
"Given that this commemoration would be attended by families and children, we are taking our responsibility seriously," it added. "We will not take any risks with the safety of innocent people."
Voorpost called on its members not to come to the square. However, they emphasised that they "will not be intimidated" and that the commemoration will take place at another time, and "via internal communication."
What happened?
The incident in Lyon happened last Thursday, on the fringes of a small demonstration by the anti-immigration feminist collective Némésis, which is close to the far right, at the city's Institute of Political Studies (IEP), known as Sciences-Po. According to Némésis, Deranque was part of a security service tasked with ensuring the safety of its members during a protest march in Lyon.
The protest was organised against a speech by Palestinian-French politician MEP Rima Hassan, who is a member of the far-left La France Insoumise (LFI), the party of Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
Némésis claims that Deranque was attacked by "extreme left" and anti-fascist activists, some of whom are affiliated with La Jeune Garde Antifasciste, which was founded in 2018 by Raphaël Arnault, now an MP for LFI.
While the French Government has singled out the LFI and Jeune Garde, Lyon prosecutor Dran has declined to comment on those claims – only specifying the incident was being investigated as voluntary manslaughter.
Initial reporting also states that Deranque and several others were being pursued by a crowd of what were called "anti-fascist activists" in the press, but newly-published footage of a prior confrontation appears to show that groups of young men from both sides showed up prepared for violence.
Lyon prosecutor Thierry Dran. Credit: Olivier Chassignole/AFP/Belga
On Wednesday morning, two arrests were made as part of the investigation into Deranque's death – bringing the number of people in custody in the case to 11, according to Lyon prosecutor Thierry Dran.
The two newly arrested people are a couple: the man is suspected of direct involvement in the violence, while his partner is accused of helping him evade justice. The two were arrested as part of an investigation into "voluntary manslaughter," said Dran, confirming a report by BFMTV.
A day earlier, seven men and two women were also arrested during coordinated operations carried out in the Lyon region, Haute-Loire, Drôme and Aisne.
According to a Belga News Agency report based on information from a source close to the case, six members of the group are suspected of having participated in the violence and three of having provided support. The 11 individuals are being questioned by investigators as part of a police custody period (which can last up to 48 hours).
Among them is Jacques-Elie Favrot, parliamentary assistant to LFI's member Raphaël Arnault. On Tuesday evening, Arnault confirmed via social media that Favrot has ceased all parliamentary activities.
"We have initiated proceedings with the National Assembly to terminate his contract. It is now up to the investigation to determine his responsibility," he said.
Rhetoric of confrontation
Some of the arrested individuals are also the subject of so-called "fiches S" (or S-files), which are issued by France's domestic intelligence services to identify individuals who are potentially dangerous to national security, according to another source close to the investigation.
These arrests come after several days of contradictory accounts, rumours and false information about the identity of the suspects, as well as the massive spread of altered or incorrect images presented as Deranque.
The case has been putting pressure on French politics for several days. On Monday, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu lashed out in parliament at the "rhetoric of confrontation" and called on party leaders to take responsibility.
He also asked that "the legal truth come to light without any pressure on the investigators and the judicial authorities".
Next month, the French will go to the polls for the country's local elections.
Update: This article was updated on Thursday at 14:20 to include that Voorpost cancelled the event.
