Exclusive: European Parliament rejects minute of silence for French nationalist student

Euronews · Feb 23, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Published on 23/02/2026 - 18:43 GMT+1•Updated 18:50 The European Parliament has turned down a request from the far-right Patriots for Europe (PfE) group to observe a minute of silence this week in memory of a French nationalist student who was killed in Lyon two weeks ago, internal sources told Euronews. Parliament’s President Roberta Metsola rejected the request as MEPs are meeting on Tuesday in Brussels for an extraordinary session, marking the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to sources, the minute of silence for the student, Quentin Deranque, has not been accepted as it is not related to the purpose of the session, which is meant to be focused only on the war in Ukraine and will vote on a non-binding resolution in support of the war-torn country. For the same reason, Metsola's office has turned down other requests to change the session's agenda. A minute of silence for Deranque could be held at the next regular plenary meeting, scheduled for the second week of March in Strasbourg. Deranque, 23, died in hospital after being severely beaten during clashes between far-left and far-right activists in Lyon. The violence followed an event featuring Rima Hassan, an MEP for leftist party La France Insoumise (LFI). Political and diplomatic fallout Although the investigation is still ongoing, Deranque's death has sparked strong political reactions in France and beyond, coming a year before the country’s presidential election and just weeks ahead of local elections in which both the far left and the far right are poised to make significant gains. France’s far-right has accused LFI of bearing moral responsibility for the killing, citing its alleged links to “La Jeune Garde,” an antifascist group dissolved in 2025 over violent activities. Prosecutors have announced that seven individuals will face murder charges, including a parliamentary assistant to LFI MP Raphaël Arnault. Last Saturday, more than 3,200 people took partin a march in Lyon to pay tribute to the student. Deranque’s death also triggered diplomatic tensions. France’s Foreign Minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, summoned the US ambassador to Paris, Charles Kushner, after the diplomat shared a message from the US State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism stating that “violent radical leftism is on the rise” and that its alleged role in Quentin Deranque’s death highlighted the danger it poses to public safety. "We reject any attempt to use this tragedy for political purposes," Barrot told France Inter radio. After PfE Europe formally requested a minute of silence, France’s National Rally extended the proposal to other PfE member parties, which endorsed the initiative, officials said. The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group later joined the call for a minute of silence and stated that it would also seek a plenary debate in March on political violence linked to far-left extremism.