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France Ups Ante in US Ambassador Spat 02/24 06:23
PARIS (AP) -- France's spat with the U.S. ambassador to Paris took another
turn Tuesday with the French foreign minister saying the top U.S. diplomat in
France must respond to a summons and won't have access to French government
officials until he complies.
French authorities had summoned Ambassador Charles Kushner -- the father of
U.S. President Donald Trump 's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner -- for a
meeting on Monday over comments from the Trump administration that France
objected to. But Kushner did not show up, the foreign ministry said.
The U.S. Embassy did not immediately respond to repeated requests for
comment.
Speaking Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Nol Barrot described the
failure to attend the meeting as "a surprise" that flew in the face of
diplomatic protocol and will dent Charles Kushner's ability to serve as an
ambassador.
"It will, naturally, affect his capacity to exercise his mission in our
country," Barrot said, speaking to public broadcaster France Info.
He said that Kushner "is bringing difficulties on himself. Because for an
ambassador to be able to do his job he needs access to members of the
government. That's the basics."
"There is nothing more usual than summoning an ambassador when explanations
need to be made," he said. "When these explanations have taken place, then the
U.S. ambassador in France will, naturally, regain access to members of the
French government."
The U.S. Embassy did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment
on Monday before the planned meeting and follow-up requests on Tuesday also got
no immediate reply.
France's foreign ministry had summoned Kushner over Trump administration
tweets relating to the beating death in France of a far-right activist, Quentin
Deranque. The 23-year-old student, described as a fervent nationalist, was
beaten by a group of people earlier this month in the city of Lyon, in fighting
that erupted between far-left and far-right activists. He later died of brain
injuries.
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.
Barrot said France needs to discuss the comments with Kushner.
"We must have an explanation with him," Barrot said. "We don't accept that
foreign countries can come and interfere, invite themselves, into the national
political debate."
The foreign minister argued that the dust-up with Kushner should not hurt
broader U.S.-France relations.
"Not showing up is his personal responsibility," he said. "It does not
affect the relationship between France and the United States in any way."
Last August, Paris also summoned Kushner over a letter he wrote to French
President Emmanuel Macron alleging that France did not do enough to combat
antisemitism. The foreign ministry called his allegations "unacceptable."
At the time, Kushner also did not respond to the summons but sent his No. 2
instead.
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