00:00With the country and political sphere still reeling from the fatal beating of a far-right
00:06student activist last week, the French Senate observed a moment of silence in homage to
00:11Quentin DĂ©ranque.
00:15Eleven people have now been arrested over the death of the 23-year-old, including a
00:20parliamentary assistant of an MP for the far-left France Unbowed Party.
00:24The government has already blamed the party's rhetoric for encouraging violence.
00:29Now Justice Minister GĂ©rald Darmanin has called for groups to abandon any alliances with the
00:34far-left.
00:36We must say here, as former President François Hollande said this morning, that never again
00:41should the reasonable, responsible, secular, democratic left associate itself with France
00:46Unbowed.
00:48The comments could have an impact on agreements between left-wing groups in municipal elections.
00:52The first round scheduled in less than a month.
00:55Three other left-wing parties have teamed up with France Unbowed before, notably to become
01:01the biggest bloc in the National Assembly after parliamentary elections in 2024.
01:06In the second round, President Emmanuel Macron's party called on voters to back far-left candidates
01:11if they were up against one from the far right, something National Rally President Jordan Bardella
01:17slammed on Wednesday.
01:19In a dozen constituencies, Emmanuel Macron's party deliberately opened the doors of parliament
01:24to the worst thugs of the far left.
01:28Earlier in the day, France Unbowed's National Coordinator again denied his party bore any responsibility
01:33for Derong's death. He spoke to reporters as the party's national headquarters was briefly
01:39evacuated due to what he said was a bomb threat. A police source later said no suspicious element
01:44was found. These accusations then have consequences and they lead a number of extremely dangerous
01:51activists to issue threats, carry out intimidation and attack constituency officers and premises.
01:59The controversy also comes as the left seeks to position itself ahead of next year's presidential
02:04vote in which the far-right National Rally Party is expected to have its best chance yet
02:09at winning the top job.
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