France: Student Dies After a Beating

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/07/world/europe/france-student-dies-after-a-beating.html

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A 19-year-old student and left-wing activist, Clément Méric, died Thursday after being beaten by a group of people described as skinheads in the heart of a Paris shopping district. Interior Minister Manuel Valls said the attack, which took place on Wednesday and involved two groups of people near the Printemps department store, “bears the marks of the far right.” Mr. Valls added, “There is no place for small neo-Nazi, far-right groups whose enemy is the Republic.” Seven people were arrested in connection with the attack, including the person suspected of hitting Mr. Méric. He was described by the French news media as being involved in far-left organizations. But the suspects’ motives remain unclear, said Agnès Thibault-Lecuivre, a prosecutors’ spokeswoman. The attack prompted condemnations from politicians across the political spectrum, including Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Front Party.