The far-right student union La Cocarde étudiante has been linked to the National Rally, a major French political party, and its Lyon branch has maintained close ties with local neo-fascist groups, some of which have been condemned by the judiciary. In the weeks before the summer of 2026, many far-right activists in Lyon received a message with a photo of Clément Schertz, the former president of the Lyon section of La Cocarde, along with his name and the word "POUKAVE" in red capital letters. The message accused him of "committing infamy by denouncing several comrades during a police custody for acts of vandalism." It was sent by members of the neo-fascist group Audace Lyon, one of several names used by the successors of the Group Union Defense (GUD) in Lyon. This group is a continuation of Lyon Populaire, a group dissolved by the government in June 2025, which included the activist Quentin Deranque, who died in February 2026 after a confrontation with anti-fascists. Clément Schertz, who led the Lyon section of La Cocarde during the 2025-2026 academic year, was involved in several incidents with neo-fascist groups. In May 2025, he spent time with neo-fascists in Mornant, a small town near Lyon, alongside Argan T., a La Cocarde activist, and members of Audace and a nationalist-revolutionary group known as Clermont non-conformist. Some members of the group had images on their phones glorifying the Third Reich or showing friends performing Nazi salutes. During two summer evenings in Mornant, racist and neo-Nazi graffiti were found on murals honoring the Black actress and resistance fighter Joséphine Baker. One of the defacements read "Mornant is Germany." Similar acts occurred in September, and during a planning conversation, Schertz reportedly said, "Damn it, guys, we're going to destroy the city again." Although he did not attend the final event, the actions led to a police investigation, and Schertz was arrested in December 2025. A search of Schertz’s home revealed stickers from various French far-right groups, including one that called for "embracing fascism," and a membership card to the National Rally. On the wall, between posters of Lyon Populaire and La Cocarde, he had hung a banner from the French Communist Party upside down, in the style of a war trophy. His phone contained images with neo-Nazi aesthetics, including a photo of Schertz surrounded by people performing Nazi salutes. During police custody, Schertz tried to distance himself from the graffiti and implicated two others, Argan T. and Alexandre J., who were later sentenced to six months in prison with probation. When questioned about the Nazi references, Schertz claimed he did not support the ideology, saying he was "forced" to associate with such groups for political reasons. His statements reportedly angered Audace, which accused him of betraying nationalist militants who had protected La Cocarde members during their activities. Contacted by StreetPress, Schertz denied the allegations, claiming the "confessions" were obtained under police pressure and were not accurate. He insisted that La Cocarde never used an "order service" to call on others for protection. Earlier, when Quentin Deranque died, Schertz had criticized anti-fascist activists, saying they were responsible for the violence in Lyon. Despite this, he later appeared at a tribute march for Deranque alongside radical activists, including Eliot Bertin, a former leader of Lyon Populaire. The Lyon section of La Cocarde, which was founded in 2020 during the pandemic, has long been associated with radical groups. Several of its leaders have faced legal consequences for violent actions. In response to accusations against its president, La Cocarde Lyon changed leaders in late May 2026, with Clément Schertz passing the role to Maximin Veyret-Passini, whose family has ties to the neo-fascist Petainist movement. The group Audace has since become less active, with some members now seen at football matches, while others have joined the Union of Defense of Youth (UDJ), a group that claims to be distinct but shares a name with a past GUD-affiliated organization.