Macron and Meloni clash over killing of French far-right activist in Lyon

A war of words has erupted between the French president and Italian prime minister over the murder of Quentin Deranque.Published On 19 Feb 2026French President Emmanuel Macron has clashed with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni over the killing of a French far-right activist who was beaten to death by hard-left activists in Lyon.Meloni, a conservative, said on social media on Wednesday that the killing “by groups linked to left-wing extremism … is a wound for all of Europe”. Macron responded angrily on Thursday as he spoke with reporters on a trip to India, saying that everyone should “stay in their own lane”.“I’m always struck by how people who are nationalists, who don’t want to be bothered in their own country, are always the first ones to comment on what’s happening in other countries,” he said.Asked if his remarks referred to Meloni, Macron replied: “You got that right.”In response, Meloni said that Macron had misinterpreted her comments. “I’m sorry that Macron experienced it as interference,” Meloni said in a television interview with Italian news channel Sky TG24.Deranque, 23, died after being beaten during a far-right protest in Lyon on February 12. Seven people, including an assistant to a member of parliament from the far-left France Unbowed (LFI), will face murder charges in the case, a prosecutor said on Thursday. They were among 11 arrested earlier in the week.Lyon prosecutor Thierry Dran said Jacques-Elie Favrot, an assistant to LFI lawmaker Raphael Arnault, faces charges of complicity through instigation and was put in pre-trial detention. Favrot and the other suspects deny the accusations.