French conservative journalist and media executive Erik Tegnér has filed a complaint after being attacked by a large group of left-wing activists while on holiday on the island of Groix in Brittany, western France.
Tegnér, founder and director of the media outlet Frontières and a commentator on CNews, said he was confronted on the night of August 5-6 by a crowd that grew to around 150 people, a figure he said was confirmed by CCTV.
According to accounts based on his complaint and phone footage, he was recognised while leaving a bar with friends.
The group surrounded him, shouted insults including “Nazi, faggot, we’re gonna smash you, Groix antifa”, attempted to seize his phone, threw beer at him and subjected him to physical harassment for about 30 minutes.
They also insulted the journalist Jordan Florentin, who was not there that night but was present during this trip.
Two locals also stepped in. One of them, to protect Tegnér, pushed him while shouting “Go, they’re gonna lynch you!”
He repeatedly called the police and eventually escaped by boarding a boat at the water’s edge.
He filed his complaint at the gendarmerie on August 6 and an investigation has been opened. The Lorient public prosecutor’s office had not commented by that evening.
A video of the confrontation has circulated on Instagram, posted by an antifa account, followed by La France Insoumise (LFI) MEP Emma Fourreau and LFI MP Alma Dufour.
Some comments respond sympathetically, talking about “doing a Quentin”, in reference to the February 2026 killing of Quentin Deranque, a 23-year-old nationalist student who died after being assaulted by a left-wing group in Lyon.
Tegnér posted that a formal complaint had been lodged and that no one would silence him.
He has previously been the target of similar violence: an attacker was convicted in September 2025 over an assault on him and his fiancée at a village event in Plouha, in Côtes-d’Armor, Brittany.
The incident has drawn expressions of support from conservative activists.
National Rally (NR) president Jordan Bardella offered his support as well and said: “The far left is the camp of intimidation, physical violence, and cowardice.”
“Justice must severely condemn these extremists who have no place in French political life. It is time for French society as a whole to become aware of the danger of the far left’s political violence!”
No immediate arrests have been reported.
On June 18, 2026 Tegnér was convicted in the first instance for publishing the names and professional details of immigration lawyers in a critical report on the migration industry.
🚨 AGRESSION D’ERIK TEGNÉR
Je viens de découvrir une vidéo postée il y a 2h de @tegnererik en train de se faire agresser sur l’Île de Groix, en Bretagne.
Des hommes l’entourent, le maintiennent et semble l’isoler contre un mur.
On retrouve le courage de l’extrême gauche qui… pic.twitter.com/VHnU0RLlyp
— Alice Cordier (@CordierAlice2) August 6, 2026
