French police investigating the beating of a far-right militant who died of brain injuries have arrested 11 people, prosecutors said Wednesday, in a case adding fuel to long-standing divides in French politics ahead of presidential elections in 2027.
Quentin Deranque, a 23-year-old student described as a fervent nationalist, died in a hospital on Saturday.
He was beaten two days earlier by a group of people in the city of Lyon, in fighting that erupted between far-left and far-right supporters on the margins of a student meeting where a far-left lawmaker, Rima Hassan, was a keynote speaker.
An autopsy found that Deranque suffered a fractured skull and fatal brain injuries, according to Lyon’s prosecutor, Thierry Dran.
He launched the police investigation for homicide and other potential criminal charges.
Dran’s office said police detained a man and a woman on Wednesday morning, with nine other people taken into custody on Tuesday night.
Hellbound and Down 