France says that the ministers will no longer meet with the US ambassador until he responds to the summons

PARIS (AP) — A dispute between France and the U.S. ambassador in Paris took another turn Tuesday as France’s foreign minister said the top U.S. diplomat in France must respond to the summons and will not have access to French government officials until he complies.

The French authorities had summoned Ambassador Charles Kushner – the father of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner – to a meeting on Monday due to statements from the Trump administration that France objected to. The State Department said Kushner did not attend.

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The US Embassy did not immediately respond to repeated requests for comment.

Speaking on Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot described the failure to attend the meeting as a “surprise” that contravenes diplomatic protocol and would weaken Charles Kushner’s ability to serve as ambassador.

“This will naturally affect his ability to carry out his mission in our country,” Barrow said in statements to France Info public radio.

He said that Kushner “brings difficulties to himself. Because for the ambassador to be able to do his job, he needs to have access to members of the government. These are the basics.”

“There is nothing more ordinary than summoning an ambassador when there is a need to provide clarifications,” he said. He added: “When these explanations are made, it is natural for the US ambassador to France to regain the possibility of contacting members of the French government.”

The US Embassy did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment on Monday before the scheduled meeting, and follow-up requests on Tuesday did not receive any immediate response.

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Kouchner over tweets by the Trump administration related to the beating death of far-right activist Quentin Deranque in France. The 23-year-old student, described as an ardent nationalist, was beaten by a group of people earlier this month in the city of Lyon, during fighting that broke out between far-left and far-right activists. He later died from traumatic brain injuries.

In a post last week on the website

The US Embassy in Paris published the same statement in French.

Barrow said France needed to discuss the comments with Kouchner.

“We must have an explanation with him,” Barrow said. “We do not accept that foreign countries come and intervene and invite themselves into the national political debate.”

The Secretary of State said the disagreement with Kushner should not harm broader US-French relations.

He added: “Failure to attend is his personal responsibility.” “It does not affect the relationship between France and the United States in any way,” he added.

Last August, Paris also summoned Kouchner over a letter he wrote to French President Emmanuel Macron alleging that France was not doing enough to combat anti-Semitism. The State Department described his claims as “unacceptable.”

At that time, Kushner also did not respond to the summons, but sent No. 2 instead.