France Bars U.S. Ambassador Kushner From Direct Access to Ministers

France has barred U.S. Ambassador Charles Kushner from direct access to French government ministers after he failed to appear when Paris summoned him over American comments on a killing in Lyon, according to Al Jazeera, France 24, Euronews and NBC News.

The foreign ministry asked that Kushner “no longer be allowed direct access to members of the French government,” Al Jazeera and France 24 reported. He can still carry out his diplomatic duties and have exchanges with officials, according to France 24, Euronews and Al Jazeera. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said access would return once the two sides have an explanation, NBC News and Al Jazeera said, and France 24 reported the ministry left the door open to talks if Kushner presents himself at the Quai d’Orsay.

The dispute began after the U.S. embassy in Paris reposted comments from the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism about the death of a 23-year-old far-right activist, who suffered fatal head injuries in clashes in Lyon in mid-February at a demonstration against a politician from the left-wing France Unbowed party, according to Euronews, France 24 and NBC News. The bureau wrote on X that the killing by left-wing militants “should concern us all,” Euronews and Al Jazeera reported. State Department official Sarah Rogers also commented on the killing, France 24 and Al Jazeera reported, and Al Jazeera said the bureau also pointed to the rise of violent radical leftism.

Barrot rejected any attempt to use the tragedy for political ends, Euronews and France 24 reported. France has “no lessons to learn, particularly on the issue of violence, from the international reactionary movement,” he said, according to France 24 and Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera added that the U.S. embassy said Kushner and Barrot later had a call.

Kushner sent a senior embassy official in his place, citing personal commitments, according to AFP as relayed by France 24 and Al Jazeera. NBC News reported he phoned Barrot, saying he did not wish to interfere in French affairs, while Barrot said France would not accept interference in its public debate. The ministry said the non-appearance was Kushner’s personal responsibility and did not affect U.S.-France relations, NBC News reported.

It was not the first clash. NBC News and Euronews reported that Kushner skipped a summons in August 2025 after writing a letter to President Emmanuel Macron saying France was not doing enough to fight antisemitism, and that an official met a representative instead.

Six men have been charged over the fatal assault, and a parliamentary assistant to a France Unbowed lawmaker has been charged with complicity, France 24 and Al Jazeera reported. Euronews and Al Jazeera said the episode comes amid heightened political tension in France ahead of next year’s presidential election.