ISTANBUL

Seven suspects have been charged for the killing of a 23-year-old French nationalist activist during clashes between far-left and far-right groups in Lyon, local media reported Friday.

Six suspects were charged with “intentional homicide,” while the seventh, Jacques-Elie Favrot, an assistant to MP Raphael Arnault of La France Insoumise (LFI), was charged with “complicity in murder by instigation," according to broadcaster BFMTV.

Seven men between the ages of 20 and 26 were formally charged on Thursday in Lyon following the arrest of 11 people in the past few days as part of the investigation into Quentin Deranque's death.

Among the suspects, six were reportedly placed in pretrial detention while a seventh was released under judicial supervision.

Deranque died last week after being severely beaten during clashes between far-left and far-right groups.

Left-wing LFI is accused of having a "moral responsibility" in the death of the activist.

'I did not expect this statement from Macron,' Italian premier says

Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni responded after French President Emmanuel Macron urged her to stop “commenting on what is happening in other countries,” following a message she posted on US social media platform X about Deranque’s death.

She had described his death as a “wound to the whole of Europe,” prompting Macron to tell reporters during a visit to India on Thursday, “Let everyone stay at home, and the sheep will be well guarded.”

Speaking to Sky TG24, Meloni said she “did not expect this statement from Macron.”

“My remarks were not about France, but about the risks of polarization in society. Interference is something else — for example, when an elected leader says, ‘we will monitor another country,’” she said.