France will summon U.S. Ambassador Charles Kushner on Monday to protest comments by the Trump administration’s State Department about the death of a far-right activist in Lyon, French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said.
The summoning signals widening friction between the U.S. and France over how the Trump administration characterizes political violence in allied countries, even as tensions mount ahead of France’s next presidential election.
State Department Comments Draw Rebuke
The State Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau posted on X that reports corroborated by the French Interior Minister indicate Deranque was killed by left-wing militants. “Violent radical leftism is on the rise and its role in his death demonstrates the threat it poses to public safety,” the statement said. “We will continue to monitor the situation and expect to see the perpetrators of violence brought to justice.”
Barrot rejected the intervention. “We reject any instrumentalization of this tragedy, which has plunged a French family into mourning, for political ends,” he said. “We have no lessons to learn, particularly on the issue of violence, from the international reactionary movement.”
The Activist’s Death and Its Aftermath
Deranque, a far-right activist, died of brain injuries sustained in a beating during a confrontation last week in Lyon. The attack occurred on the margins of a student meeting where far-left lawmaker Rima Hassan was a keynote speaker. French President Emmanuel Macron called for calm on Saturday as approximately 3,000 people joined a march in Lyon organized by far-right groups to pay tribute to Deranque.
Criminal Charges in the Killing
The killing has intensified political divisions ahead of France’s next presidential election. Seven people have been handed preliminary charges related to the death. The Lyon public prosecutor’s office requested that six of them be charged with intentional homicide, aggravated violence, and criminal conspiracy. The seventh was charged with complicity in intentional homicide, aggravated violence, and criminal conspiracy.
Broader Bilateral Tensions
Barrot also criticized U.S. sanctions against Thierry Breton, a former European Union commissioner responsible for supervising social media rules, and Nicolas Guillou, a French judge at the International Criminal Court, saying they are “unjustified and unjustifiable.”
The Monday meeting will mark the second time in recent months that Kushner has been summoned by France. He was previously summoned in August over his letter to Macron alleging that France had not done enough to combat antisemitism. Kushner did not attend; a representative of the U.S. ambassador attended instead.