Meloni and Macron clash over the death of the French far-right activist at the hands of ‘antifas’: “It hurts all of Europe”

death of the young far-right activist Quentin Deranque in Lyon due to the beatings of several people linked to far-right movements, he has confronted the leaders of France and Italy. The reason has been the statements of Giorgia MeloniItalian Prime Minister, that the French President Emmanuel Macron has interpreted as an interference.

Meloni showed her sadness in a message your official social network account. “The murder of young Quentin Deranque in France is a fact that disturbs and hurts deeply“, he noted, mentioning that the deceased had barely turned 23 years old and that his attackers were “linked to groups related to left-wing extremism.”

The head of the Italian Government then blamed the “ideological hatred” that “crosses” several European countries, and described the event as “a wound for all of Europe”.

“No political idea and no ideological opposition can justify violence or transform debate into physical aggression. When hate and violence take the place of dialogue, democracy always loses,” warned the Italian Prime Minister.

Your vice president and leader of the League, Matteo Salvinian ally of the National Group of the French Marine Le Pen, has also condemned this murder as “an event of incredible gravity” and has warned of “the escalation of criminal actions” of the extreme left.

Eleven people have been arrested in connection with the violent death, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, and seven of them face murder charges. One of the defendants worked as an assistant to a parliamentary member of Insoumise Francethe far-left formation of Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

From India, where he was on an official visit, Macron angrily berated his Italian counterpart. Asked in New Delhi, he tartly commented that “the nationalists” who “don’t want to be bothered in their own country” are “the first to comment on what happens in other people’s homes“.

In reaction to the words of the French president, Antonio TajaniItalian Foreign Minister, stated that Deranque’s death constitutes “a serious matter that affects us all” and described the event as an act of violence “that must be condemned without any ambiguity.”

“A murder without limits, a warning for those who resort to hatred and violence, for those who insult and use offensive language. There have been many Quentins in Italy, some in the darkest periods of the Republic,” Tajani wrote on his profile on the social network X.

Macron calls for serenity

In addition to criticizing the words of Meloni and different members of the Italian government, the leader of the Elysée has urged “to remain calm” and stressed that the priority had to be “the memory and respect for this compatriot and his family“.

In parallel, he condemned all violence and warned that “there is no place for militias, wherever they come from“Extremist parties must clean up, in this case the extreme left, but also other extreme right parties that sometimes have militants among their ranks who justify violent actions,” said the leader of the French executive.

For his part, Meloni later clarified in an interview in Sky TG24 what Macron had misinterpreted his statements and that his intention was to warn about the risks of social polarization, not to interfere in what is happening in France.

In any case, the dispute between both administrations is another example of how far apart the ideological positions are regarding various issues such as security and immigration between both countries.

In fact, both governments represent a completely opposite position. While the Italian leader, Giorgia Meloni, is the most visible face of the European conservatives and reformists, closer on the immigration issue to the opposition National Group of Jordan Bardella and Le Pen.

For his part, the French president embodies a more centrist position, in favor of open management of immigration and defender of coexistence between different cultures as the basis of the republican model.