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The death of French far-right activist Quentin Deranque has reached the European Parliament, with the Patriots for Europe group calling for a minute of silence at next week’s plenary session, sources and MEPs from the group confirmed to Euronews.
A demonstration organised by far-right groups is also planned in Brussels on Thursday evening.
Deranque, 23, died on Saturday in a hospital after being beaten during an altercation between far-left and right-wing activists in Lyon, following an event featuring far-left MEP Rima Hassan.
Witnesses said Deranque was providing security at a protest against Hassan’s appearance at Sciences Po university when he was assaulted by rival activists. His death has sparked protests and political debate across France.
The delegation of the far-right French party Rassemblement National (RN) at the European Parliament has moved to bring the case before the assembly, with delegation head Jean-Paul Garraud submitting a request for a minute of silence ahead of next week’s plenary session.
The extraordinary session was planned solely to mark the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Patriots for Europe has backed the initiative of its French member party, and will formally ask European Parliament President Roberta Metsola to approve it.
Under Parliamentary rules, before the start of a session, political groups may submit a request for a minute of silence to the president, who can approve or reject it when opening the session.
Euronews has reached out to the Parliament for comment.
The move echoes a controversy from last year, when Swedish MEP Charlie Weimers requested a minute of silence during an ongoing session to commemorate the death of far-right US activist Charlie Kirk.
A vice president of the European Parliament rejected that request as procedurally improper, prompting loud protests from several MEPs.