US Ambassador to France Charles Kushner barred from meeting French government after missing meeting

US Ambassador to France, Charles Kushner has been blocked from meeting French government ministers after failing to attend a scheduled meeting at the foreign ministry.

According to The Guardian, Kushner was summoned by French Foreign Minister Jean Noel Barrot to discuss US comments about the killing of far right activist Quentin Deranque.

Instead of attending, Kushner sent a senior embassy official, citing personal commitments.

“In light of this apparent failure to grasp the basic requirements of the ambassadorial mission, the minister has requested that he no longer be allowed direct access to members of the French government,” the foreign ministry said in a statement, according to the outlet.

The ministry added that Kushner could still have “exchanges” with foreign ministry officials “so that we may hold the diplomatic discussions needed to smooth over the irritants that can inevitably arise in a friendship spanning 250 years”.

The dispute follows US state department remarks that said it was monitoring the case and warned that “violent radical leftism” was on the rise.

Barrot criticized outside reactions, saying: “We reject any instrumentalisation of this tragedy, which has plunged a French family into mourning, for political ends.”

“We have no lessons to learn, particularly on the issue of violence, from the international reactionary movement,” he added.