The US ambassador to France, Charles Kushner, has been blocked from directly accessing French government ministers after he failed to appear to a summons by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.
Kushner had been summoned over comments made about the death ofFrench far-right activistQuentin Deranque earlier this month, but "did not appear" on Monday, a statement from France's foreign affairs ministry, the Quai d'Orsay, said.
"Faced with this apparent misunderstanding of the basic expectations of an ambassador's mission, the Minister has requested that he no longer have direct access to members of the French government," the statement said.
Kushner will still be permitted to carry out his duties and have "diplomatic exchanges" with officials.
The spat deepened further on Tuesday when Barrot said the US ambassador's failure to appear on Monday will "naturally affect his ability to carry out his mission in our country."
The French foreign minister insisted that while Kushner's actions will not "affect the relationship between the United States and France in any way," they demand "an explanation."
"The tragedy of Quentin Deranque's death has deeply affected the nation and bereaved a French family. What we have said is that we reject any political exploitation of this tragedy," Barrot told French public broadcaster FranceInfo.
A source close to the French foreign minister confirmed to CNN that the US ambassador to France spoke to Barrot on Tuesday following his summons no-show. The minister reiterated the reasons for the summons, telling Kushner that "France cannot accept any form of interference or manipulation of its national public debate by the authorities of a third country," according to the source.
The US ambassador expressed his desire "not to interfere" in French public debate, and "reaffirmed the friendship between France and the United States," the source said, adding that Kushner and Barrot agreed to meet in the coming days.
CNN has reached out to the US embassy in France and the US State Department for comment.
Quentin Deranque, 23, died two days after suffering severe head injuries in a brawl in the city of Lyon on February 12, drawing comment from the Trump administration which described the death as the result of left-wing violence.
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On Friday, the US embassy in France shared an X post from the US State Department's Counterterrorism Bureau which said reports that Deranque "was killed by left-wing militants, should concern us all."
"Violent radical leftism is on the rise and its role in Quentin Deranque's death demonstrates the threat it poses to public safety," the X post said.
The fatal brawl was caught on video, which showed several masked people kicking and punching a man on the ground, causing widespread shock and anger in France.
Authorities have charged two people with murder in connection with Deranque's death, and altogether 11 have been arrested.
The French foreign minister previously said he would summon Kushner after he labeled his comments about the incident as "interference," in an interview with radio station France Inter.
The incident has also sparked a diplomatic spat between France and Italy, after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Deranque's death was caused "by groups linked to left-wing extremism" and condemned "a climate of ideological hatred sweeping several nations."
This is not the first time that Kushner, father of President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, has failed to appear after being summoned amid criticism from the French authorities.
In August 2025, the Foreign Ministrysummoned Kushnerafter he accused the French government of a "lack of sufficient action" in confronting antisemitism.
A French diplomatic source told CNN at the time that the US chargé d'affaires was summoned to the ministry's headquarters in Paris in Kushner's absence, as he was not in Paris.
CNN's Lisa Courbebaisse and Pierre Bairin contributed reporting.
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