Summary
Diplomatic sources said on Monday that the United States ambassador to France, Charles Kushner, has been prohibited from meeting directly with members of the French government after he did not appear for a scheduled summons at the Foreign Affairs ministry earlier the same day. The summons related to comments the U.S. Embassy made about the recent killing of a French far-right activist.
What happened
Officials told reporters that the ambassador had been called to the Foreign Affairs ministry following the publication of remarks by the U.S. Embassy concerning a violent incident in France. The ministry viewed those remarks as commentary on a national debate and said it would not allow the matter to be exploited. According to the source, "Following the publication by the U.S. 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."
As a consequence, the ministry has asked that Kushner no longer be granted direct access to members of the French government, the source said: "Faced with this apparent misunderstanding of the basic expectations of an ambassador who has the honour of representing his country, the minister requested that he no longer be allowed direct access to members of the French government."
Context of the summons
The summons followed the killing of Quentin Deranque, a French far-right activist, who was beaten to death in a fight with alleged hard-left activists. The incident has unsettled public opinion and was described in some quarters as "France’s Charlie Kirk moment", a reference to a high-profile shooting last year involving a U.S. conservative activist.
The U.S. Embassy in France and the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism said they were monitoring the case. On the social platform X, they warned that "violent radical leftism was on the rise" and said it should be treated as a public safety threat.
Previous similar episode
This was not the first occasion on which Kushner failed to attend a ministry summons. In August 2025, he had been asked to appear at the French Foreign Affairs ministry after publicly expressing concern about a rise in anti-Semitic acts in France and criticizing French authorities for not doing enough to address them. On that occasion, he also did not present himself for the requested meeting, the diplomatic source noted.
Outlook
The ministry's decision restricts Kushner's direct engagement with French ministers and senior officials. The diplomatic source framed the measure as a response to what was described as a misunderstanding of the expected conduct of an ambassador representing his country.