French authorities have banned US Ambassador Charles Kushner — the father of Jared Kushner and father-in-law of Ivanka Trump — from meeting with government officials as tensions rise between Paris and Washington.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barro claimed Tuesday Kushner failed to show up for a meeting to explain comments made by the Trump administration to which President Emmanuel Macron’s government objected.
“It will, naturally, affect his capacity to exercise his mission in our country,” Barro told broadcaster France Info.
“When these explanations have taken place, then the U.S. ambassador in France will naturally regain access to members of the French government,” he added.
Kushner was summoned to explain a critique by the State Department of the rise of “violent radical leftism” after far-right activist Quentin Deranque, 23, died from head injuries Feb. 14, two days after a clash with far-left gang members in Lyon earlier this month.
Deranque’s death was caught on video, showing him being kicked and punched. Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin likened Deranque’s murder to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in America.
Two people have been charged with murder and altogether 11 have been arrested in the case of Deranque’s death.
In response to the killing, the State Department’s bureau of counter-terrorism posted online: “Violent radical leftism is on the rise and its role in Quentin Deranque’s death demonstrates the threat it poses to public safety.”
The US Embassy in Paris posted the same statement, in French.
The State Department did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Macron’s government has expressed concern about Washington’s interference in what it sees as French internal affairs.
“France cannot accept any form of interference or manipulation of its national public debate by the authorities of a third country,” an official told AFP.
The political temperature in France has risen in the aftermath of Deranque’s murder and ahead of local elections in March.
Several rallies have sprung up throughout the country. Macron has been trying to calm the situation.
“There is no space in France for movements that adopt or legitimize violence,” the French president said earlier this week.
President Trump nominated Kushner as his ambassador to France shortly after winning a second term. At the end of his first term, he pardoned Kushner for federal crimes tied to tax evasion and witness tampering.
Kushner, 71, is a longtime real estate and business tycoon.
He has no previous diplomatic experience.
Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump are due to attend Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, a source close to the couple tells The Post.
