French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday, February 14, urged calm and restraint after the fatal beating of a 23-year-old French youth aligned with the far-right on the sidelines of a conference by a hard-left lawmaker in the southeastern city of Lyon.

The death of the young man – identified only as Quentin – has intensified tensions between France’s far-right and radical left who are both eyeing 2027 presidential elections.

He had been hospitalized in Lyon on Thursday after being attacked while providing what his supporters said was security for a protest against an appearance by hard-left MEP Rima Hassan at the Lyon branch of the Sciences Po university.

      • pimpampoom@lemmy.zip
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        36
        arrow-down
        8
        ·
        6 days ago

        Not agreeing with the comment but, far-right = Nazi.

        Tho I don’t think saying they deserve to die is true, those people have just fallen in the lies of the far right parties and are scared.

        • mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          38
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          6 days ago

          those people have just fallen in the lies of the far right parties and are scared.

          No, I’m done trying to find novel or justifiable reasons for people to support Nazis. The most likely answer is that there’s something in it for them. Not because they’re scared, but because they believe that naziism will get them something (power, control, money, etc) that they wouldn’t otherwise have. It’s an entirely self-serving ideology, so why would anyone follow it for reasons that aren’t rooted in selfishness?

        • RalfWausE@feddit.org
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          5 days ago

          This is a war, there may be good people on the other side that were tricked into joining, but they are still on the other side.

        • Bullerfar@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          arrow-down
          18
          ·
          6 days ago

          Everyone is calling people far right nowadays just because they think the boarders shouldnt be kept open to anyone. This is why I ask, because the far left is throwing the word around like Nothin.

    • texture@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      12
      ·
      6 days ago

      also to claim that “the radical left is eyeing 2027 presidential elections” is pretty wild. no radical leftists will be winning any election, sadly.

    • Kacarott@aussie.zone
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      7 days ago

      I don’t think I’ve heard of “radical left” outside of the US? In Europe I only recall “far left” and “far right”

      • Obi@sopuli.xyz
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        11
        ·
        6 days ago

        In France the literal translation would be “extreme right” and “extreme left”.

    • CovfefeKills@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      6 days ago
      radical
      /ˈradɪkl/
      adjective
      adjective: radical
      1.
      (especially of change or action) relating to or affecting the fundamental nature of something; far-reaching or thorough.
      "a radical overhaul of the existing regulatory framework"
      2.
      advocating or based on thorough or complete political or social change; representing or supporting an extreme or progressive section of a political party.
      noun
      noun: radical; plural noun: radicals
      1.
      a person who advocates thorough or complete political or social change, or a member of a political party or section of a party pursuing such aims.
      

      Radical change is literally the goal.

        • Tattorack@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          5 days ago

          America has no concept of “radical left”. I can suggest something mild and end up being called a communist.

          • 🌞 Alexander Daychilde 🌞@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            5 days ago

            Precisely. As a progressive, what I want is generally considered pretty normal and basic in any of the other 32 OECD (“developed”) countries.

            There are a few that would be “radical”, but they are a tiny minority.

            Tell ya what, though, after putting up with fascist bullshit all my life, while I just want basic freedom and a social safety net, I’m willing to listen to these “radical” left. Certainly the regressive right has done fuck all for us.

        • CovfefeKills@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          4
          ·
          edit-2
          6 days ago

          That’s radical dude. That’s rad.

          Radical has always been progressive in america. Right out of the civil rights movement co-opted by hippies.

          If you are backing down to the nazis and letting them change the meaning of words I am going to call you a weak dog.

          • 🌞 Alexander Daychilde 🌞@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            5 days ago

            There is nothing radical about progressives in the US. As a progressive… we are centrist in most of the other 32 OECD (“developed”) countries.

            Radical left would start with things like no private property, ownership of everything by all, things like that.

            So no, friend, I’m not changing the meaning of anything. Calling progressives in the US “radical” is already changing the meaning and wussing out on what actual radical change would be.

            • CovfefeKills@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              2
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              5 days ago

              You have this negative association with the word that is entirely adopted from the right. The civil rights movement was radical, dude.

                • CovfefeKills@lemmy.world
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  arrow-up
                  2
                  arrow-down
                  2
                  ·
                  5 days ago

                  You ignored my points you just want to be agreed with you never engaged my points which actually contradicted you. Your point is that progressives in america aren’t progressives because progressives in other countries are more progressive? But they are still progressive, you are still progressive. But because I don’t immediate agree with you, you say I am ignoring your points, I would say that you aren’t progressive at all. Because that isn’t how discussion works, that’s hmmm. Maybe there is a name for “agree with me or else” ??

  • SabinStargem@lemmy.today
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    52
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    7 days ago

    Fuck being calm. Rightwingers keep assaulting normies and our own, because they had suffered no consequences. We should change that, forever. It is easy to be conservative, when you don’t pay for the wrongs you commit.

  • arcine@jlai.lu
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    32
    arrow-down
    4
    ·
    6 days ago

    Unfortunately, optics are incredibly important to win public opinion. As a radical leftist myself, I have little to no compassion for the man who died ; nonetheless I hope this doesn’t start a pattern.

    Many people see these things as entirely vibes-based, so if we don’t look like the good guys, to many people that’s enough to decide we aren’t the good guys.

    • KingGimpicus@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      26
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      6 days ago

      I think the world needs less radical left and more militant left.

      We’ve tried talking for the last 80 years or so. Its not working so well. So maybe we need to bring back the violence that defeated fascism last time.

      • ameancow@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        14
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        6 days ago

        If you’re going to adopt violence, you have to target the exact right people or you just plunge yourself into a long, dumb spiral of public outrage until whatever the organization originally meant to accomplish is lost in the news cycle of violence. People won’t remember what you represented, only what you did. And you can’t fix that with messaging, it’s just not how it works.

        I can name a dozen different iconic seditious or rebellious groups in recent history and for every name read, you will see in your mind’s eye terrorism and bombings and violence, not what that group wanted to accomplish or what their goals were.

        I get gnashing teeth reminding people of this fact, but Mussolini was not defeated by a plucky band of rebels who dragged him out of his bunker, he was arrested by his own king and government and handed over the opposition. We still need political action or we’re just embracing mindless chaos, we will need politics to both secure an actual victory and we will need politics to deal with the millions of people who didn’t vote for any of your actions but will still live next to us after.

        • yabbadabaddon@lemmy.zip
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          5
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          5 days ago

          The man who died was a far right militant, member of a group who regularly descends in the street to beat everyone not looking like their idea of a French.

          I don’t think killing people is a solution. But if you think violence is sometimes justified against some people, this dude was as close as it gets.

        • timuchan@lemmy.wtf
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          6 days ago

          “The means are the end,” to quote a line from The Dispossessed by Ursula K Le Guin (anarchist and legendary fiction writer). While I agree that we need most parts if the left for revolution (Andor does a decent job demonstrating this), I’m highly skeptical that lasting change can be built on revolution that is primarily enacted through violence.

          • phutatorius@lemmy.zip
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            edit-2
            5 days ago

            revolution that is primarily enacted through violence

            How many incidents does it take before it reaches “primarily”? Because this is one incident.

      • ccunix@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        7
        arrow-down
        5
        ·
        5 days ago

        We need less polarisation. The far left and far right are both wrong because the world is a complex place full of nuance.

        Personally I consider myself left of centre, but I also find policies that are absolutely core to the left abhorrent. That means I have voted centre right in the past, or centre depending on the situation.

        What is absolutely certain is this kid did not deserve to die and the people that did it should JUSTLY face the full force of the law.

      • arcine@jlai.lu
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        5 days ago

        I agree. We do have to be quite careful about the optics thing, though. It’s not enough to be on the side of the people, the people also have to feel like you’re on your side.

        The right has that part down real good, and we’re getting wrecked in many places because of that fact alone.

    • sircac@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      6 days ago

      Mmh… I think that tribal identification is a basic problem (the us vs their conundrum): the danger is obvious, admit this general simplified view to conform the “only two collectives” and judge them by choiced individuals and not by the root ideas and what they bring, if humans cannot overcome this instinct they will remain ants that follow queens for no good reason…

      • arcine@jlai.lu
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        6 days ago

        The problem of course is that, bad as it may be to think this way, people (including me !) absolutely do think this way by default, unless consciously making the effort not to.

        Maybe this can be deconstructed, but until then we need a good dose of “Realpolitik” that takes those biases into account, at least if we want to achieve anything concrete.

        There is some truth to the “us vs them” between elites and the people, and the current elite is (somehow) very good at making a big part of the people they oppress think that “actually, you’re part of the elite too !”

  • wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    49
    ·
    7 days ago

    “Chill out, everybody calm down. Its was just a nazi, the fucker got what was coming to him.”

    The French have a proud tradition to maintain.

  • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    29
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    7 days ago

    “Hatred that kills has no place in our country” - Man trying to stop hateful people who want to kill from facing consequences of their actions.

    • menas@lemmy.wtf
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      7
      ·
      6 days ago

      If we need to be prepare for collective self-defense, killing violence is the field of the far right. I’m not saying “it’s wrong”, I’m saying that we will lose. Our collectives are made around care and support, their collectives prepare for war an terror

      • shani66@ani.social
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        5 days ago

        Learn some history, every advancement we’ve made as a species is from violence or the threat there of. The black panthers (and various other armed left wing groups and individuals) are what won civil rights in America, not King asking nicely.

    • ammonium@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      5 days ago

      You do realize that this and the killing of Kirk is great news for the far right movement?

      • shani66@ani.social
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        5 days ago

        No it isn’t? Kirk was immediately turned into a joke and his ‘friends’ and even wife were profiteering so hard off it that even the magats could see through it. He was by far the most effective communicator the Nazis had, with him out of the way they have just less effective lunatics advocating for their evil.

        • ammonium@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          4 days ago

          And now he’s a martyr who’s been killed by the radical left terrorists who celebrate his murder.

          I didn’t know him before he was murdered (only knew his face of the memes, didn’t know what he stood for) and I think the world is a better place without him. But if you advocate for and celebrate people being murdered in the streets, then you’re just helping the far right narrative, and frankly it makes you not any better than them.

          • shani66@ani.social
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            4 days ago

            It makes me a lot better than them, and you are an idiot if you think it’s equal in any way. And i literally just explained that no, he isn’t a martyr, he’s a joke among his own people.

            • ammonium@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              4 days ago

              Yes, that’s probably why Turning Point membership is growing.

              Maybe not equal, but rather worse than many on the far right (probably not all, I’ll give you that). Murder is bad, full stop. I don’t know why I’m wasting time explaining this…

  • Clbull@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    5 days ago

    If National Rally were in any position of power, this easily could have become France’s Reichstag Fire moment.