By Elizabeth Pineau
PARIS, Feb 20 (Reuters) - France's National Rally (RN) urged supporters to avoid rallies on Saturday for fear of unrest, as analysts say it seeks to capitalise on the killing of a far-right activist by suspected hard-left militants to push its mainstream credentials.
The nationwide rallies are in memory of Quentin Deranque, 23, who was beaten to death in a fight that was caught on camera and shocked the nation. Police fret the marches could turn violent, with clashes between opposing extremist political groups.
Former centre-right Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin called Deranque's killing "France's Charlie Kirk moment," referring to last year's shooting of the U.S. conservative activist.
"This is a moment aimed at delegitimising a segment of the political spectrum and portraying the triumphant far right as a victim," he said.
Long-vilified by the French mainstream, the RN has cast the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party as the real danger to France. An aide to an LFI lawmaker is one of seven under formal investigation for their alleged role in Deranque's murder.
The LFI has condemned the killing. Its coordinator Manuel Bompard said "the LFI bears no political responsibility in this drama."
PUSHING INTO THE POLITICAL MAINSTREAM
The RN has worked for years to shed its reputation as being racist and anti-Semitic and to present itself as a bulwark of institutional credibility. Its efforts appear to be paying off with a November poll showing RN's 30-year-old leader Jordan Bardella could win the next presidential election in 2027.
In a message from Bardella on Friday to RN leaders, seen by Reuters, he urged them to avoid the nationwide rallies, where potential confrontations could reinforce the negative image it is trying to shed.
"The far left's desire for confrontation with these gatherings appears undiminished. Some organisers, undeniably linked to the ultra-right and whom we refuse to associate with ... are also seeking confrontation," he wrote.
"We have paid a dignified tribute to Quentin and are fully assuming the political role that the French people - shocked and outraged by this tragedy - expect from us."
There has yet to be a poll published showing an electoral lift since the killing for the RN, which is the largest single party in parliament, but Luc Rouban, an expert on political violence, said the incident will surely "benefit the RN a lot."
He said the killing allows the RN to say: "'We respect institutions. There are people who are afraid of us coming to power; they kill our supporters.'"
Jean-Daniel Lévy of pollster Harris Interactive said voters were increasingly susceptible to the RN's argument.
"When you ask voters whether they feel the RN is republican, the answer is generally yes," he told Reuters. "Undeniably, there is a process of normalisation of the RN taking place."
'THE FAR LEFT KILLED'
In a TV interview on Wednesday, Bardella said "the far left killed," and called the LFI a "breeding ground for violent movements."
The U.S. State Department's Bureau of Counterterrorism said it was monitoring the case, warning in a 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.
There is no official French data on extremist political violence, but French security services say the far right poses the second-biggest terrorism threat after jihadism.
Reuters has reported at least five killings allegedly carried out by far-right individuals since 2022, including one investigated as terrorism. Deranque's death was the first allegedly carried out by hard-left individuals over that same period, newspaper Le Monde has reported.
Despite his far-left barbs, Bardella has shown an awareness that the far-right's record on political violence is not impeccable.
On Wednesday, he said violent extremist groups on both sides of the spectrum should be banned.
Bardella called on mainstream parties to form a "sanitary cordon" against the LFI. Such electoral constructs, in which opposing parties join forces to block more extremist groups from power in a two-round vote, have long been used against the RN.
(Additional reporting by Juliette Jabkhiro and Lucien LibertWriting by Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
