A young nationalist activist in his twenties is in a critical condition this Friday, according to initial reports from his family. The young man was beaten up on Thursday evening on the sidelines of a conference given by LFI (far-left) MEP Rima Hassan at the IEP [Political Science Uni] in Lyon, in the 7th arrondissement.
Several activists from the feminist and identitarian collective Némésis gathered outside the IEP premises to unfurl a banner protesting against Rima Hassan's visit, which read ‘Islamo-leftists out of our universities’.
‘It was an action organised by our Lyon branch. Five or six girls were present and male volunteers were stationed a little further away, ready to intervene and provide security if the activists were attacked,’ Alice Cordier, director of Némésis, told Le Figaro.
His condition is critical
According to the activists' account, several anti-fascist groups accustomed to tense confrontations with Némésis physically opposed the presence of the young women, one of whom, aged 19, was ‘dragged to the ground and strangled,’ as shown in a video posted by Némésis on social media. The young woman has been treated by a doctor and intends to file a complaint.
Video of the attack mentioned above.
But after this initial confrontation, Quentin D., a member of the informal security team stationed nearby, was also attacked. According to a friend of the young man, the two were followed as they left the scene and then beaten up in a more remote street. Quentin was then knocked to the ground, causing initial head injuries, before being kicked repeatedly while on the ground, causing further injuries. His friend, who was slightly injured, began to accompany him home and then called for help when Quentin fell unconscious on the way back. Quentin was hospitalised in ‘absolute emergency’ for a ‘cerebral haemorrhage’: he is in a coma and his family says that his condition is now life-threatening. ‘He is between life and death,’ says Alice Cordier.
A security source confirmed to Le Figaro that a 23-year-old man named Quentin was admitted to Édouard Herriot Hospital ‘after being picked up by firefighters at around 7:40 p.m. on Quai Fulchiron in the 5th arrondissement.’ The individual had lost consciousness. His friend ‘reported an assault in the 2nd arrondissement, on the Lyon Presqu'Île.’ This route is consistent with the hypothesis of an assault that occurred as the two men were walking away from the IEP in Lyon towards Vieux Lyon. When contacted, the Lyon public prosecutor's office has not yet responded to our requests for comment.
The young man, who had converted to Catholicism, received the last rites in the morning, according to a source close to the family. One of his closest friends, Vincent, described him to Le Figaro as a devout young man who had become involved with the Fraternité Saint Pierre and regularly attended mass at the Collégiale de Saint-Just on the heights of Fourvière hill. Quentin was studying finance and mathematics in Lyon. Both were active as nationalist activists in Lyon. About fifteen activists volunteered to provide security for the Nemesis collective's event.
The Némésis collective accuses several far-left groups, notably ‘La Jeune Garde’, of being behind the attack, and claims to have recognised Jacques-Élie Favrot, parliamentary assistant to LFI [far-left] MP Raphaël Arnault, among the attackers in footage filmed on Thursday evening.
Calls for prayer have since been circulating on Telegram loops, calling for support for the young man's family. Matthias Renault, MP for the Somme (RN), one of the first to react to this information, posted on X on Friday morning: "The far left kills. Thoughts and prayers for Quentin, 20, beaten up by Antifa in Lyon, and now fighting for his life.‘ ’All my thoughts are with the victim and my support goes to the Collectif Némésis," posted Sarah Knafo, Reconquête! candidate for mayor of Paris.
