The US Ambassador to France, Charles Kushner, has lost direct access to French government ministers after failing to attend a summons from French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.
Kushner was summoned regarding remarks he made about the death of a French far-right activist earlier this month, but “did not appear” on Monday, according to a statement from France’s foreign affairs ministry, the Quai d’Orsay.
“Faced with this apparent misunderstanding of the basic expectations of an ambassador’s mission, the Minister has requested that he no longer have direct access to members of the French government,” the statement read.
Kushner is still permitted to carry out his duties and maintain “diplomatic exchanges” with various officials.
CNN has contacted both the US embassy in France and the US State Department for comment.
Quentin Deranque, 23, passed away two days after sustaining severe head injuries in a brawl in Lyon on February 12. His death drew comments from the Trump administration, which described it as the result of left-wing violence.
On Friday, the US embassy in France shared an X post from the US State Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau, stating that reports of Deranque “being killed by left-wing militants, should concern us all.”
“Violent radical leftism is on the rise and its role in Quentin Deranque’s death demonstrates the threat it poses to public safety,” the X post declared.
Video footage of the fatal altercation, showing several masked individuals kicking and punching a man on the ground, sparked widespread shock and anger across France.
The French foreign minister announced on Sunday that he would summon Kushner, labeling the ambassador’s comments about the incident as “interference.”
“We are summoning the US ambassador to France because the embassy issued a commentary on this event which concerns the national community. We reject any interference in this event,” Barrot stated in an interview with radio station France Inter.
Authorities have charged two individuals with murder in connection with Deranque’s death, and a total of 11 arrests have been made.
The incident has also sparked a diplomatic disagreement between France and Italy. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attributed Deranque’s death to “groups linked to left-wing extremism” and condemned “a climate of ideological hatred sweeping several nations.”
This marks another instance where Kushner, father of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, has failed to appear after being summoned amidst criticism from French authorities.
In August 2025, the Foreign Ministry summoned Kushner after he accused the French government of “a lack of sufficient action” in confronting antisemitism.
A French diplomatic source informed CNN that due to Kushner’s absence from Paris, the US Chargé d’affaires was summoned to the ministry’s headquarters.