France to summon U.S. Ambassador Charles Kushner over State Department remarks on activist’s killing

France has announced plans to summon U.S. Ambassador Charles Kushner following remarks by the U.S. State Department linking the death of a far-right activist to what it described as “violent radical leftism.” French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the comments were unacceptable and accused the U.S. of politicising a tragedy that has plunged a French family into mourning.

The controversy stems from a statement by the State Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau claiming that Quentin Deranque was killed by left-wing militants, warning that radical leftist violence poses a growing threat to public safety. Deranque died last week from brain injuries after being beaten during a clash on the margins of a student meeting in Lyon, where far-left lawmaker Rima Hassan was a keynote speaker.

The killing has intensified political tensions in France ahead of next year’s presidential election. President Emmanuel Macron called for calm after thousands of far-right supporters marched in Lyon to pay tribute to Deranque. French authorities have since handed preliminary charges to seven suspects, including counts of intentional homicide, aggravated violence and criminal conspiracy.

Barrot said the planned meeting with Kushner would also address U.S. sanctions imposed on Thierry Breton, a former EU commissioner, and Nicolas Guillou, a French judge at the International Criminal Court, describing the measures as “unjustified and unjustifiable.”

This will be the second time France has summoned Kushner. He was previously called in last year over a letter accusing France of not doing enough to combat antisemitism—claims the French government rejected as damaging to diplomatic relations. Macron later criticised Kushner, who is the father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, saying such public accusations were incompatible with diplomatic norms.