PARIS — France says it will summon US Ambassador Charles Kushner over a letter he wrote to President Emmanuel Macron saying the French government’s action on antisemitism was insufficient, days after similar criticism from Israel.
“France firmly refutes these latest allegations,” says a French foreign ministry statement. “The allegations from the ambassador are unacceptable.”
France is “fully committed” to fighting antisemitism, the ministry adds.
The foreign ministry statement says Kushner’s comments went “against international law, and in particular the duty not to interfere in internal matters of states” by diplomatic personnel.
“Furthermore, they do not live up to the quality of the transatlantic relationship between France and the United States and the trust that should result between allies,” it adds.
In his letter, ambassador Kushner argued that hatred of Jews “has exploded since Hamas’s barbaric assault on October 7, 2023,” which triggered the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, and accused France of “lack of sufficient action” in facing down antisemitism.
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