US ambassador to France banned from meeting French government

The U.S. ambassador to France, Charles Kushner, ​has been banned from meeting ​members of the French government after ‌not showing ​up at the Foreign Affairs ministry earlier in the day, where he had been summoned over comments on the killing ‌of a French far-right activist last week, diplomatic sources said on Monday.

The U.S. ambassador to France, Charles Kushner, ​has been banned from meeting ​members of the French government after ‌not showing ​up at the Foreign Affairs ministry earlier in the day, where he had been summoned over comments on the killing ‌of a French far-right activist last week, diplomatic sources said on Monday. "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," the source added.

French far-right activist Quentin Deranque was beaten to death in a fight with alleged hard-left activists, in an incident that shocked ⁠the nation ​and has been ⁠called "France's Charlie Kirk moment", referring to last year's shooting of the 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, warning on X ​that "violent radical leftism was on the rise" and should be treated as a public ⁠safety threat.

"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," the source added. This was the second time Kushner ⁠did not show after being summoned. In August 2025, he had been asked to explain ⁠himself at the French ⁠Foreign Affairs ministry after having publicly raised his concern about the rise in anti-Semitic acts in France and criticising the French authorities ‌for not doing ‌enough against it.