State Dept Flags Terror Concerns in French Activist Killing

The U.S. State Department said it is watching closely the case of a rightist French activist killed by suspected leftist militants, suggesting it might count as terrorism, in comments that may stir fresh tensions between Paris and Washington.

The State Department's Bureau of Counterterrorism said it was monitoring the case, warning in a Thursday post on X that "violent radical leftism was on the rise" and should be treated as a public safety threat. "We … expect to see the perpetrators of violence brought to justice," it said.

Under Secretary of State Sarah B. Rogers, a public diplomacy official who has taken the lead in a series of attacks on European governments, said in a post on X on Friday that she, too, was keeping close tabs on the case.

"Democracy rests on a basic bargain: you get to bring any viewpoint to the public square, and nobody gets to kill you for it. This is why we treat political violence – terrorism – so harshly," she wrote.

The United States is "outraged by the brutal murder" of Quentin Deranque, a State Department spokesperson told Reuters.

France's Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

The State Department Bureau of Counterterrorism plays a central role in developing terrorist designations and related sanctions work.

Washington and Paris have clashed for months on trade, free speech, and foreign policy. Rogers has repeatedly criticized France over its approach to tech regulation and free speech.

Deranque died last Saturday after violent clashes between leftist and rightist groups in Lyon.

Prosecutors said six people were under murder investigation, while a former assistant to a France Unbowed (LFI) leftist party lawmaker faces charges of complicity through instigation.

The incident has shaken French politics, weakening the LFI and boosting the rightist National Rally ahead of next year's presidential elections, analysts say. It also triggered a diplomatic spat between French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.