Meloni
hits back at Macron in spat over killing of French far-right activist
The death
of Quentin Deranque has triggered another round of Franco-Italian fighting.
February
19, 2026 5:06 pm CET
By
Giorgio Leali and Clea Caulcutt
PARIS — A
bitter clash erupted Thursday between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and
French President Emmanuel Macron after the killing of a far-right activist in
Lyon last weekend.
Meloni’s
entourage fired back at Macron after the French president had earlier slammed
the Italian leader for saying that the killing of 23-year-old Quentin Deranque
was “a wound for the whole of Europe.”
Macron,
speaking during a trip to India, suggested that Meloni was unduly interfering
with France’s internal affairs.
The two
leaders have fought on topics spanning migration to abortion during a
terminally uneasy relationship, but are set to have a moment of reconciliation
in April during a Franco-Italian summit in Toulouse.
Officials
close to the Italian prime minister said Macron’s comments were met “with
astonishment” and insisted that Meloni’s statement was meant to “show
solidarity with the French people affected by this terrible event and that in
no way interfere in France’s internal affairs.”
“Frankly,
I’ve been very surprised by this declaration from Macron. I was not expecting
it. My reflection is not about France but about the risks of polarization,”
Meloni told Sky later in the day.
“I am
sorry Macron percieved it as interference. Interference is something else, for
instance when a leader is elected by his citizens and a foreign country says we
will monitor on the rule of law. That’s interference,” she added, in a
reference to when the French government said it would monitor rule of law in
Italy days after Meloni’s election win.
Earlier
in the day, Macron said he was “struck by the fact that people who are
nationalists, who don’t want to be bothered at home, are always the first to
comment on what is happening in other countries.”
“If
everyone just minded their own business, things would be just fine,” Macron
said.
The
far-right activist died after receiving blows to the head during a fight
outside a conference featuring hard-left France Unbowed MEP Rima Hassan at a
university in Lyon, France’s third-largest city.
Lyon’s
chief prosecutor said later Thursday that he was requesting seven people,
including a parliamentary assistant for a France Unbowed lawmaker, be placed
under formal investigation for voluntary homicide. Three of the suspects told
they were or had been affiliated with “ultra-left” groups. Some acknowledged
that they took part in a fight but all denied that their intent was to kill
Deranque, the prosecutor said.
Macron
said the country’s political extremes must “put their houses in order” after
the killing. “There is no space in France for movements that adopt or
legitimize violence,” Macron told reporters during a trip to India.
Lyon’s
Mayor Grégory Doucet on Thursday called on authorities to ban a march in
support of the dead activist that was arranged for Saturday.
Victor
Goury-Laffont contributed to this report.
CORRECTION:
This story has been updated to clarify the Lyon chief prosecutor’s request.
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