The beating death of ultraconservative activist Quentin Deranque in the French city of Lyon last week has pushed both the country’s far right and left flanks toward bellicosity, as both ends of the political spectrum blame the other for his death and the threat of further violence. That two of the people detained for the killing were aides in a far-left lawmaker’s office has only inflamed already fraught tensions ahead of upcoming local elections and a presidential election next year. 

‘Lawless party, unfit to govern’
Deranque’s killing has “spiraled into a bitter war of words” and “intense political jockeying” that offer a “preview of the tensions that could erupt” ahead of France’s national elections next year, said The New York Times. The arrest of suspects associated with the far-left France Unbowed Party has led to “thunderous condemnations” from the nation’s far-right, including the National Rally Party, which has “spent years trying to shake off a legacy of xenophobia and antisemitism.” National Rally now has an “opportunity” to frame its leftist nemesis as a “lawless party unfit to govern France.”

Despite France Unbowed’s efforts to “distance the party from Deranque’s violent death,” it has nevertheless “come under attack from rivals across the political spectrum,” said the BBC. The backlash against France’s left is, in ways, “reminiscent of the American right’s offensive against ‘antifa’ movements” following the shooting death of far-right provocateur Charlie Kirk, said Jacobin.

Conversely, Deranque’s death is “proving to be a turning point for the French far right,” despite the movement being “riddled with deep divisions,” said Le Monde. A planned march of far-right factions this weekend could “provide an opportunity” for ultraconservatives to “rally around a common cause: the figure of Deranque,” who has been “elevated to the status of political martyr” for some.

Shift for the ‘cordon sanitaire’
Deranque’s death is “reshaping” France’s domestic politics to the “benefit of the populist National Rally,” said The Times. It has cast the nationalist right wing as a victim while pushing the left, which traditionally claims the moral high ground, into “disarray.” Now, France’s partisan landscape seems to be “reshaping itself around an unprecedented paradox,” said Euro News. The “cordon sanitaire” — a method by which political parties are isolated and excluded from governing coalitions — that has “long applied to the far right” is now being used against France Unbowed.

There’s growing demand to separate “profound autism” into its own diagnosis, outside current parameters. Since 2013, autism diagnoses have been split into three levels, ranging from “some support required” to “requires very substantial support.” The addition of a “profound autism” category was first proposed in 2022 by a board of international experts in The Lancet, and those who support the idea think it could bring welcome extra support to those who require it most. But critics say it could mean other members of the autistic community are neglected. 

What’s profound autism? 
The proposed term would describe individuals with autism who have “little or no language (spoken, written, signed or via a communication device), who have an IQ of less than 50, and who require 24-hour supervision and support,” said neurodevelopment experts Kelsie Boulton, Marie Antoinette Hodge and Rebecca Sutherland at The Conversation. In their study of 513 autistic children assessed between 2019 and 2024, 24% met, or were likely to meet, the criteria for profound autism. 

People in the “profound” category lack appropriate treatment, support, clinical research and health care providers. “There are people across the spectrum who have high support needs that are intermittent,” said Judith Ursitti, the president of the nonprofit Profound Autism Alliance and the mother of an adult son with profound autism. “The difference with our population is they are constant.”

Why is the new definition needed? 
Having a more specific category in future clinical guidelines could allow governments, disability services and clinicians to plan and deliver support more effectively, said the researchers. Recent broadening of the current spectrum means those with the highest needs may be “overlooked,” so the new category would “rebalance their under-representation in mainstream autism research.” 

The current understanding of the autistic spectrum ranging from “mild” to “severe” can be “misleading,” said Aimee Grant, a public health professor at the U.K.’s Swansea University, to The Conversation. Autism is made up of many different elements, so there can be “no single line on which every autistic person is placed.” 

What are the arguments against it? 
Some experts say a new category would be “unhelpful,” said Grant. On its own, it tells us “nothing about a person’s particular challenges or the type of support they require.” 

Some advocates in the autism community see “unity as the best protection for everyone on the spectrum” and value being “part of one shared story,” said Forbes. Others in the community fear that creating a separate diagnosis would “reduce attention on the broader spectrum and the individual needs of everyone on it,” said The Independent.

Team USA’s Alysa Liu delivers a winning performance in the women’s figure skating final at Milano Cortina 2026. The 20-year-old is the first American to claim an Olympic gold in the event in 24 years.
Antonin Thuillier / AFP / Getty Images

Flavor meanderings, genre reconsiderations, health on the rocks — 2026’s predicted cocktail trends move from the world of ingredients to a thoughtful appraisal of what precisely comprises an Irish pub. 

Tea time
Hojicha is “going to define 2026,” said Chris Figueroa, the beverage director at Markette and The Argyle in New York City, to Vine Pair. The ingredient “adds a quiet complexity that elevates an entire drink.”

But it has some competition. Matcha’s “combination of herbaceous, earthy notes and slight sweetness” means the green tea has “great tannin structure that helps it hold up against a variety of other drink components,” said Liz Provencher at Food & Wine.

Irish pubs are back
Gone is the American idea of an Irish pub, as a new wave of bars locks on the beating heart of an Irish drinking establishment. Consider Guinness with oysters on the half shell at Manhattan’s Banshee, wild ox pie with live music at The Harp in Washington, D.C., and a pour of Skellig Irish whiskey alongside fish cakes with tartar sauce at Baltimore’s The Wren. A pub is “not just a place to get a drink but a place where life happens,” said Hannah Walhout at Punch.

Make way for protein
Everyone can’t stop yapping about protein, and the growth of Mate! Vodka Protein Water, a canned 4.5% ABV beverage with eight grams of protein, is evidence. Drinkers now “want satiety, recovery support or wellness alignment while still honoring the ritual of cocktail hour,” said Ahu Hettema, the owner of Istanbul Hawai’i in Honolulu, to Wine Enthusiast.