Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free

France has banned US ambassador Charles Kushner from meeting government officials after he ignored a summons from the foreign ministry over Trump administration comments about the recent killing of a far-right activist.

Kushner, the father of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, was called to the Quai d’Orsay after Washington waded into the political turmoil in France since 23-year-old Quentin Deranque was killed in a clash between his group and far-left militants in Lyon.

The US state department warned that “violent radical leftism is on the rise” and represented a threat to “public safety”, promising in a post on X that the US would “monitor the situation and expect to see the perpetrators of violence brought to justice”.

The US embassy in Paris reposted the comment in French, prompting the diplomatic spat. It also comes as the Trump administration has openly supported far-right movements across Europe, which it sees as sharing its views that western civilisation is under threat from uncontrolled immigration and leftist excesses.

French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on France Info on Tuesday that Kushner’s non-appearance was a “surprise” move that should not occur between countries that have a 250-year-old alliance.

“When you have the honour of representing your country — the United States of America — in France as ambassador, you respect the most basic rules of diplomacy and you respond when summoned by the foreign ministry,” he said.

“The French and France do not accept that foreign countries or authorities wade into our national debates.”

Barrot said that if the ambassador explained himself, the access would resume.

An official from the US embassy was sent to represent Kushner, who said he could not attend due to personal engagements. It was the second time that he ignored a summons from the Quai d’Orsay — behaviour that flouts diplomatic practice, especially between allied countries.

The first time was after Kushner wrote an open letter to Macron in August, expressing “deep concern” that Paris was not doing enough to fight antisemitism, a sensitive topic in France since it is home to Europe’s biggest Jewish community.

Trump has repeatedly warned that Europe was being ruined and “invaded by a force of illegal aliens”, while the White House national security strategy recently asserted that Europe’s economic decline could be “eclipsed” by the prospect of “civilisational erasure”, warning the continent could be “unrecognisable in 20 years or less”.

Relations between Trump and President Emmanuel Macron have also veered between bonhomie and insults over everything from tariffs to the war in Ukraine.

Trump administration diplomats have been unabashed about taking on their host countries. The US ambassador to Belgium, Bill White, recently attacked the country for what he called the antisemitic policy of banning some types of circumcision. In Poland, a war of words erupted when the parliament speaker said Trump did not deserve the Nobel Prize. US ambassador Tom Rose hit back, saying he would not allow anyone to ‘‘disrespect Donald Trump”.

Kushner is not a career diplomat and became wealthy as a real estate developer in New Jersey. He also spent time in federal prison after being convicted of tax evasion. He was released in 2006. 

Kushner apparently sought to ease the tension later on Tuesday by calling Barrot. The foreign ministry said Kushner had expressed “that he did not want to interfere” in French public debate and that he also spoke of the long friendship between the US and France.

The Quai d’Orsay said that the two had agreed to meet but did not specify if the ban on Kushner meeting government officials was lifted.

The Trump administration’s comments added to the tensions in France over the killing of Deranque. The far-left activists known as la Jeune Garde, who identify themselves as an anti-fascist self-defence movement and whose members stand accused of beating Deranque to death, have links to the far-left France Unbowed party.

The far left has become engulfed in a political crisis after Deranque’s death, while the far right has seized on the moment to paint itself as the victim and the far left as dangerous radicals.

Prosecutors on Thursday said they were filing preliminary charges against seven men aged 20 to 26 for voluntary homicide.

The US embassy did not return a request for comment.

This story has been corrected to clarify that Poland’s parliament speaker said Trump did not deserve the Nobel Prize