The French foreign ministry has announced that US envoy Charles Kushner should be denied direct access to government officials after failing to explain his comments regarding an alleged increase in violence in France.
Kushner, the father of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of former US President Donald Trump, was summoned to meet French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Monday evening but did not attend, citing a prior engagement. Instead, he sent a deputy from the US embassy, prompting strong criticism from the ministry.
The ministry said Kushner showed an “apparent failure to grasp the basic requirements of the ambassadorial mission” and confirmed that Barrot requested Kushner “no longer be allowed direct access” to French government ministers.
The diplomatic tension followed comments posted by the US embassy in France on social media about the murder of 23-year-old Quentin Deranque, a far-right nationalist and maths student in Lyon. The post claimed that “violent left-wing extremism is on the rise” in France.
Deranque died in hospital on 14 February, two days after being attacked by a group of masked young men. French centre-right ministers have attributed the assault to far-left militants, while the US embassy’s post angered French authorities.
“We reject any use 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.”
Six men suspected of involvement in the assault have been charged in connection with Deranque’s death, and a parliamentary assistant from the radical left France Unbowed (LFI) party has also been charged with complicity. LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a potential candidate in next year’s presidential election, condemned all forms of violence and emphasized that his party had no involvement.
“We express our consternation, but also our empathy and compassion for [Deranque’s] family and friends,” Mélenchon said.
