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A far-left lawmaker's aide was among eleven who were arrested in France overnight and early on Wednesday in the killing of a far-right activist.
Quentin Deranque, the far-right activist, died on Saturday after he was beaten outside a conference centre in Lyon where Rima Hassan, an LFI member of the European Parliament, was speaking.
Videos of the confrontation were widely shared on social media. Hassan and other members of the LFI have condemned the killing.
On Wednesday, February 18, after the announcement, the Paris headquarters of the Unbowed (LFI) party received a bomb threat, and the building had to be evacuated until the police gave the all-clear.
The Lyon prosecutors' office, which has opened a murder investigation, said 11 suspects have been arrested, and among them is an aide to LFI lawmaker Raphael Arnault, who said on Tuesday that the aide had "stopped all parliamentary work".
"It is now up to the investigation to determine responsibility," Arnault said on X.
Tensions are high between the left and right ahead of local elections next month and a presidential vote next year, set to take place in a highly polarised environment.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the LFI's national coordinator, Manuel Bompard, said his party was in no way responsible for Deranque's death.
