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C'est le discours à cause duquel il est parti.

C'est le discours à cause duquel il est parti.
It is the speech because of which he left.
From Lesson 169:Contracted relative pronouns (auquel / duquel)·French

Questions & Answers about C'est le discours à cause duquel il est parti.

Why do we use duquel here instead of lequel?
Duquel is a contraction of de and lequel. The phrase for "because of" is à cause de. Since discours is masculine singular, we need lequel, and combining de + lequel gives us duquel.
Can I just use dont instead of à cause duquel?
No, you can't use dont here. While dont normally replaces de + a noun, you cannot use it after a compound preposition (a preposition made of multiple words ending in de, like à cause de, près de, or à côté de). In these cases, you must use duquel, de laquelle, or their plural forms.
Why is it il est parti and not il a parti?
The verb partir (to leave) is one of the special verbs that always uses être as its helping verb in the passé composé, rather than avoir.
What if the sentence was about a feminine noun, like a letter (la lettre) instead of a speech?
Since lettre is feminine singular, you would use laquelle. Because de + la doesn't contract, it stays as two separate words: C'est la lettre à cause de laquelle il est parti.

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