France restricts US envoy's access to gov't members after skipping summons

France has restricted U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner's access to senior government officials after he failed to attend a summons from the French Foreign Ministry over comments by the U.S. Embassy regarding the death of a French far-right activist, reported Xinhua.

Kushner did not appear after being called earlier Monday, France's BFM TV reported. The summons followed statements by the U.S. embassy on social media about the death of Quentin Deranque, which French authorities viewed as inappropriate.

On Friday, the U.S. Embassy said on X account that "violent left-wing extremism is on the rise, and its role in Quentin Deranque's death demonstrates the threat it poses to public safety".

The French Foreign Ministry said that in light of what it described as an apparent misunderstanding of "the basic expectations of the mission of an ambassador honored to represent his country," Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot had decided the U.S. envoy would no longer have direct access to members of the French government, according to the broadcaster.

France rejects "any instrumentalization of this tragedy" for political purposes, Barrot said, adding that the country has "no lessons to receive on the issue of violence, particularly from the reactionary international."

The ministry added that Kushner would still be able to carry out his duties and visit the ministry for "necessary diplomatic exchanges", which it said could help ease bilateral frictions.

In an interview with French media on Sunday, Barrot said the U.S. embassy had commented on what he described as a tragedy concerning "the national community," prompting the government to summon the ambassador.

According to French media reports, Deranque was seriously injured during a clash between rival radical groups at a conference in Lyon on Feb. 12. The event was organized by a member of the hard-left party La France Insoumise (LFI). Deranque later died from his injuries.