U.S. ambassador aims to smooth over diplomatic tensions with France
· Toronto Sun
The U.S. ambassador to France sought Tuesday to smooth over a diplomatic spat with Paris, calling up the French foreign minister who had said earlier in the day that the U.S. diplomat would lose access to French government officials after he skipped a meeting, The Associated Press reported.
French authorities had summoned Ambassador Charles Kushner — the father of U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner — over comments from the Trump administration that France objected to. But Kushner did not show up for the Monday night meeting, the foreign ministry said.
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After French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Tuesday morning that the no-show would dent the ambassador’s ability to serve in France, Kushner telephoned the minister and they agreed to meet in the coming days, Barrot’s office said.
Street violence prompted social media posts
The fracas began after social media posts from the Trump administration in relation to the beating death of French activist Quentin Deranque. The 23-year-old student, described as a French nationalist, was beaten to death by what French ministers called far-left activists earlier this month in Lyon, in fighting between political agitators.
In a post last week on X , the State Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau said “violent radical leftism is on the rise and its role in Quentin Deranque’s death demonstrates the threat it poses to public safety.”
The U.S. Embassy in Paris posted the same statement in French.
The Paris government then bristled at what it regarded as interference in French affairs and summoned Kushner. His call to Barrot on Tuesday after his no-show helped smooth things over.
Barrot told the ambassador that France cannot accept foreign interference, the minister’s office said. Kushner “took note, expressed his willingness not to interfere in our public debate, and recalled the friendship that binds France and the United States,” it said, adding the agreed to meet in the coming days.