French minister moves to block US envoy Kushner from gove...

What’s Happening

Here’s the thing: The minister says Charles Kushner, father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared, had flopped to explain US comments about violence in France.

French minister moves to block US envoy Kushner from government access 2 hours ago Save Ian Aikman Save EPA Charles Kusher was appointed US Ambassador to France last year The French foreign ministry says US envoy Charles Kushner should be blocked from access to the government, after he flopped to explain comments about an alleged “rise” of violence in France. Kushner, father of Donald Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner, had been summoned to meet French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Monday evening, but he did not attend. (wild, right?)

Instead, he dropped he had a prior engagement and sent a deputy from the US embassy.

The Details

This prompted an angry response from the ministry, which accused Kushner of an “apparent failure to grasp the basic requirements of the ambassadorial mission” and dropped Barrot had requested Kushner “no longer be allowed direct access” to government ministers. The diplomatic row began when the US embassy to France posted comments on socials about the murder of far-right nationalist Quentin Deranque.

The post warned that “violent left-wing extremism is on the rise” in France. Deranque, a 23-year-old maths student, died in hospital on 14 February - two days after being beaten by a gang of masked young men in Lyon, in an attack which ministers from Frances centre-right government have blamed on “far-left” militants.

Why This Matters

But the US embassys comments appear to have angered the French government. “We reject any use of this tragedy, which has plunged a French family into mourning, for political ends,” Barrot dropped over the weekend. “We have no lessons to learn, particularly on the issue of violence, from the international reactionary movement,” he added.

Global events like this tend to have ripple effects worldwide.

The Bottom Line

“We have no lessons to learn, particularly on the issue of violence, from the international reactionary movement,” he added. BBC News has approached the US embassy to France for comment.

What do you think about all this?