France's top diplomat Monday requested that US Ambassador Charles Kushner no longer be allowed direct access to members of the French government after he skipped a meeting to discuss comments by the administration of US President Donald Trump over the fatal beating of a far-right activist.
"In light of this apparent failure to grasp the basic requirements of the ambassadorial mission and the honour of representing one's country, [Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot] has requested that he no longer be allowed direct access to members of the French government," the ministry stated.
Kushner will no longer have access to government ministers but would be permitted to continue his diplomatic duties and have certain "exchanges" with officials, the ministry said.
"Following the publication by the US embassy of comments on a tragedy that occurred in France and concerns only our national public debate – which we refuse to allow to be exploited – ambassador Charles Kushner was summoned today to the ministry. He did not show up," a diplomatic source told Reuters.
The ambassador – whose son, Jared, is married to Trump's daughter, Ivanka – sent a senior official from the embassy in his place, citing personal commitments, a source told AFP.
The ministry, however, left the door open for reconciliation.
“It remains, of course, possible for Ambassador Charles Kushner to carry out his duties and present himself at the Quai d’Orsay, so that we may hold the diplomatic discussions needed to smooth over the irritants that can inevitably arise in a friendship spanning 250 years,” it said.
The feud erupted over comments made by members of the Trump administration about the death of a right-wing activist following a violent riot in Lyon on February 14.
Quentin Deranque, 23, died from head injuries following clashes between far-right and hard-left supporters on the sidelines of a demonstration against a politician from the left-wing France Unbowed (LFI) party in the southeastern city.
Six men suspected of involvement in the fatal assault have been handed preliminary charges over the killing, while a parliamentary assistant to an LFI lawmaker has been charged with complicity.
The administration of US President Donald Trump condemned the role of "violent radical leftism" in the case.
Sarah Rogers, the US State Department undersecretary for public diplomacy, said Deranque's killing showed "why we treat political violence – terrorism – so harshly".
"Once you decide to kill people for their opinions instead of persuade them, you've opted out of civilization," she wrote on X.
The US embassy in France and the US State Department's Bureau of Counterterrorism said they were monitoring the case, warning on X that "violent radical leftism is on the rise" and should be treated as a public safety threat.
Analysts and others have been quick to point out that far-right groups have long perpetrated the majority of politically motivated violence, with Muslims, immigrants and Jews as well as left-wing opponents often targeted.
Sociologist Isabelle Sommier stressed that of the 57 deaths linked to violence between political groups recorded between 1986 and 2017, the radical right had been responsible for all but five.
Read moreHow the death of far-right activist Quentin Deranque became France’s ‘Charlie Kirk moment’
France's foreign minister responded by saying he vehemently rejected US attempts to leverage the tragedy "for political ends" and said he would be summoning the US ambassador.
"We are going to summon the United States ambassador to France, since the US embassy in France commented on this tragedy ... which concerns the national community," Barrot told local media on Sunday.
“We reject any instrumentalisation of this tragedy, which has plunged a French family into mourning, for political ends,” Barrot said. “We have no lessons to learn, particularly on the issue of violence, from the international reactionary movement.”
A rally in support of Deranque drew some 3,200 people to the streets of Lyon on Saturday, some wearing white nationalist symbols. French authorities said they were opening an investigation into reports that members of the crowd performed Nazi salutes.
French President Emmanuel Macron is holding a meeting on Tuesday to discuss "violent action groups" in the wake of Deranque's death, which has ignited tensions between the political left and the right.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)
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