BBC Brands Slain French Student ‘Far-Right’ After Brutal Beating by Suspected Leftists

BBC Brands Slain French Student ‘Far-Right’ After Brutal Beating by Suspected Leftists

Quentin Deranque, a 23-year-old French student, died on Saturday from injuries sustained two days earlier when he was brutally beaten and “kicked about the head” by a group of masked attackers in Lyon. The BBC headline read, “Nine arrested in France over death of far-right student.” The opening sentence describes Deranque as a “far-right nationalist.”

According to the BBC, the far-left suspected militants carried out the assault following a small protest by “far-right feminists” — whom Deranque was reportedly helping to protect — at the city’s Institute of Political Studies (IEP), commonly known as Sciences Po. The protest took place on the sidelines of a conference featuring Rima Hassan, a member of the European Parliament representing the hard-left party France Unbowed (LFI).

On Wednesday, nine young men were arrested in connection with the killing, including a parliamentary assistant to a deputy from France Unbowed. The BBC reported that the suspects are far-left militants allegedly linked to the banned group La Jeune Garde (Young Guard).

The killing has placed significant pressure on LFI, its 70 members of parliament, and its veteran leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, “a likely contender in next year’s presidential election,” as per the BBC.

On Sunday, Mélenchon said his party had “nothing to do with this story.” He added, “Those who accuse us are committing libel.

“We express our consternation, but also our empathy and compassion for Deranque’s family and friends. We have said dozens of times that we oppose all forms of violence.”

A subsequent report indicated that two additional arrests were made in the case, including a second parliamentary aide affiliated with the LFI party.

The BBC’s far-left political bias is common knowledge.

[Several months ago, the network faced intense scrutiny when its “deceptive editing” of President Trump’s January 6, 2021, speech to supporters was exposed, fueling accusations of blatant bias.]

The network faced immediate backlash from conservatives for minimizing Deranque’s savage murder as a “death” in the headline and for labeling him as “far-right” in both the headline and the first sentence.

Was the BBC implying that because the victim was “far-right,” his murder was somehow justified? Well, one would be forgiven for drawing that conclusion.

Historian and commentator Dr. Philip Kiszely noted on X that Deranque was actually “lynched.” He wrote:

Beaten to death by a baying mob. Punched and kicked until his body and head were smashed in by a large group of FAR-LEFT psychopaths with the smell of blood in their nostrils. Murdered for standing up to misogynistic lunatics. ‘Far-right?’

He summed up by calling the BBC an “utter disgrace of a captured corporation.”

He was lynched.

Beaten to death by a baying mob.

Punched and kicked until his body and head were smashed in by a large group of FAR-LEFT psychopaths with the smell of blood in their nostrils.

Murdered for standing up to misogynistic lunatics.

‘Far-right?’ You utter disgrace… https://t.co/WqrPBh2hi5

— Dr Philip Kiszely (@KiszelyPhilip) February 18, 2026

Kiszely’s take, of course, was entirely accurate as many readers pointed out:

pic.twitter.com/kcUypxkVQn

— NothingsMakingAnySenseNow. (@sonicboomer0011) February 18, 2026

They attacked first, you are just a lying manipulative trashpic.twitter.com/UMDIrOf8oW

— TSN (@TSN_Mad) February 19, 2026

One X user came to the BBC’s defense and posted what they claimed to be a photo of Deranque wearing a jacket with a Nazi patch on the sleeve.

The poor angel 🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/WNJcvIiyuU

— Big Chief SMASH (@JayJayBoogers) February 18, 2026

However, a reader’s note attached to the post indicated that “the man in this image is not Quentin Deranque as is widely misreported.” The note included a link to the original article.

Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the murder in a statement on X. She emphasized the “ideological hatred” behind the attack, calling it “a wound to the whole of Europe.”

The killing of the young Quentin Deranque in France is an event that deeply shocks and grieves us.

The death of a boy just over twenty years old, attacked by groups linked to left-wing extremism and overwhelmed by a climate of ideological hatred that is sweeping across several nations, is a wound to the whole of Europe.

No political idea, no ideological opposition can justify violence or turn debate into physical aggression. When hatred and violence take the place of dialogue, it is always democracy that loses.

L’uccisione del giovane Quentin Deranque in Francia è un fatto che sconvolge e addolora profondamente.
La morte di un ragazzo poco più che ventenne, aggredito da gruppi riconducibili all’estremismo di sinistra e travolto da un clima di odio ideologico che attraversa diverse… pic.twitter.com/F7vzDhT9X8

— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) February 18, 2026

During an official visit to India on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron called on Meloni to stop “commenting on what is happening in other people’s countries.” He said, “Let everyone stay in their own lane.”

Like it or not, a young conservative student was beaten to death by a gang of far-left militants because of his political beliefs. And despite persistent claims that political violence is a problem “on both sides,” the record shows that the lion’s share of it is driven by one side.

The BBC’s coverage of this story implies that not all murders carry the same moral weight. When the victim is branded “far-right,” outrage seems to soften, and clarity gives way to equivocation.

Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.

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