“We are in fact condemning the attitude of Ms Metsola, whom our French delegation and our Patriots group had asked to hold a minute of silence here in tribute to Quentin,” Jean-Paul Garraud, head of the French National Rally in the European Parliament, wrote on social media.
“Metsola had indeed promised us this minute of silence … This minute of silence was not granted.”
The chief of the far-right Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) group — René Aust of the Alternative for Germany — told Metsola during a meeting of political group leaders on Thursday that she had broken an agreement to hold a minute of silence, according to two people who were in the room, granted anonymity to speak freely.
Metsola told Aust that she has been in touch with Deranque’s family, and that they had asked her not to politicize his death, according to the two people.
The right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists group, and the far-right Patriots and ESN groups first asked for a minute of silence to be held at an extraordinary plenary session on Feb. 27.
Metsola said that plenary was dedicated exclusively to the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and agreed to move the minute of silence to the plenary of March 9-13, according to the right-wing groups.