An activist from the right-wing feminist Némésis Collective has said the group’s members are “deeply traumatised” following the death of a 23-year-old man who was attacked after accompanying activists at a protest in Lyon.
Speaking in an interview yesterday, Mathilda, a Némésis representative who did not wish to be identified, told Brussels Signal the group had initially believed the victim, Quentin Deranque, was injured but not critically.
“The next day, we learned he was brain-dead in hospital. That is when we understood this was extremely serious,” she said.
She noted that the young women were also violently attacked by the far-left during their protest, although not as badly as Deranque.
Among others targeted, one activist was gripped by the throat and thrown to the ground, resulting in 12 days of medically-certified time off work.
Despite being the victims of assault over their political beliefs, the women were met with hostility by politicians from the hard-left la France Insoumise Party (LFI) and parts of the French press, Mathilda said.
“We began to be accused by part of the political class of being responsible for Quentin’s murder,” she said.
“This is very hard morally, because we only organise peaceful actions. We never seek violence. We apply our freedom of expression.
“At no point did we imagine it could end with something as serious as a lynching and someone being beaten to death. It is difficult to hear people say we are responsible for his death,” she added.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of the left-wing La France Insoumise (LFI) party called for the dissolution of the Némésis Collective after the killing of Deranque.
“Even though it was one of his militants who killed Quentin, he is the one calling for our dissolution,” Mathilda said.
“So, in addition to losing a friend, we are subjected to a kind of media lynching that portrays us as dangerous and responsible and says that we should be banned.
“Fortunately, we are supported by politicians on the Right and even by some centrists and journalists. But it is still hard to hear this from part of the political class,” she added.
Deranque and Némésis have been termed as far-right by certain media. According to Mathilda, this serves a narrative to say it was simply a clash between the far-left and the far-right, putting both sides on an equal footing.
“In France, most public media are left-wing or far-left and are not neutral. But the narrative is starting to shift because two suspects in Quentin’s murder are parliamentary assistants to Raphaël Arnault, a La France Insoumise MP,” she said.
“The media are now beginning to say there may be links between La France Insoumise and the violent group Jeune Garde. The investigation is ongoing, so I speak conditionally.”
Jeune Garde is a group founded around 2016 or 2017 that calls itself anti-fascist.
She also noted that Deranque was simply a friend of activists in the Lyon section. He had come to accompany the girls of Némésis in Lyon because they expected tensions outside LFI MEP Rima Hassan’s meeting at Sciences Po Lyon.
Their male friends stayed nearby in case they needed to help. But when the activists were attacked, their friends were also chased and beaten elsewhere, ending with the killing of Deranque.
Hassan was the subject of protesters because she is seen by many as a representative of “Islamo-leftism”, a collaboration between the hard-left, Islamist organisations and groups linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of Hamas.
“We oppose Islamism because we believe it threatens women’s freedoms and French culture. Our banner read ‘Islamo-leftism out of our universities’,” Mathilda said.
She also claimed universities in France are dominated by left-wing and far-left speakers.
“When right-wing speakers are invited, left-wing student groups often block events. Our activists often hide their identities because they fear harassment and exclusion,” Mathilda said.
“Some university administrations have even warned activists that they would not protect them.”
At Némésis they consider Jeune Garde a far-left militia that organises violence.
“Its former leader, Raphaël Arnault, is now an MP for La France Insoumise and has previous convictions for violence. The group was dissolved by interior minister Gérald Darmanin but its members continue under different names and are challenging the dissolution in court,” Mathilda said.
“The state is aware of their dangerousness. Arnault himself was under security surveillance. Yet he was still elected as an MP. In France, having a criminal record does not prevent someone from standing for election.
“That is a democratic reality, but we believe his party acted irresponsibly by selecting him,” she added.
Mathilda noted that two of Arnault’s parliamentary assistants are now implicated in the investigation in Lyon. They have been banned from parliament but Arnault himself can still sit. He did not attend the parliamentary minute of silence for Deranque.
“We hope the government will act, but we are sceptical. At the moment, only La France Insoumise is calling for our dissolution. The investigation involves many suspects and may take time,” she said.
“Many members of Jeune Garde come from privileged or bourgeois backgrounds, including children of civil servants, academics, or officials.
“We believe the French justice system is highly politicised. One in three judges belong to a syndicate that advocates prison abolition. Judges have great power and often deliver sentences that many French people consider too lenient.”
Still, because of the media attention, Mathilda said she hopes justice will be done.
“Public opinion is strongly reacting, especially online. Many people are shocked that a 23-year-old man could be beaten to death in the street over political beliefs,” she said.
Yet, despite these sentiments, Mathilda noted that the Mayor of Lyon Grégory Doucet, a politician with the Green Party, is seriously considering banning a requested commemorative march on February 21 for Deranque, organised by his family, because it could lead to further tension.
According to the activist of the Némésis Collective, a ban on the march would be a denial of democracy and of free speech.
