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.