French left-wing party HQ evacuated after bomb threat

France’s hard-left party La France Insoumise (LFI) said its national headquarters were evacuated on Wednesday, February 18, following a bomb threat, an incident that came hours after prosecutors confirmed a series of arrests linked to the fatal assault of a far-right activist last week.

The victim, Quentin Deranque, 23, died after suffering a severe brain injury when he was attacked by at least six individuals. The assault took place on the sidelines of a far-right demonstration opposing the appearance of a hard-left politician at a university in the southeastern city of Lyon, as per French media reports.

The killing has intensified political tensions between France’s far right and hard left ahead of municipal elections scheduled for March and the 2027 presidential race, in which the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) is widely viewed as having a strong chance of winning power.

“The national headquarters of LFI have just been evacuated following a bomb threat,” LFI coordinator Manuel Bompard wrote on X on Wednesday. “Police services are on site. All employees and activists are safe,” he added.

The evacuation followed new developments in the criminal investigation. Prosecutor Thierry Dran announced that a man suspected of direct involvement in the violence, along with his partner — accused of helping him evade authorities — had been taken into custody as part of an investigation into “intentional homicide.” According to a source familiar with the case, six additional detainees are suspected of participating in the beating, while three others are believed to have assisted them.

The same source said an assistant to LFI lawmaker Raphaël Arnault was among the first four people detained. Arnault later stated that he had dismissed the assistant.

A women’s identitarian organization, Némésis, said Deranque had attended the Lyon protest to protect its members and accused the anti-fascist youth group Jeune Garde — co-founded by Arnault — of responsibility for the killing.

Following news of the arrests, RN president Jordan Bardella accused LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon of bearing “moral and political responsibility,” alleging that he had “opened the doors of the Assemblée Nationale to suspected murderers.”

Although members of the government have publicly pointed to LFI and Jeune Garde, prosecutors in Lyon have declined to comment on those accusations, stating only that the case is being investigated as voluntary homicide and aggravated assault.