Summoned by French diplomats over letter decrying inaction on antisemitism, US envoy sends deputy in his stead

After being summoned by the French Foreign Ministry over a letter accusing Paris of failing to sufficiently combat antisemitism, US Ambassador Charles Kushner sent the embassy’s chargé d’affaires in his stead, says a French diplomatic source.

In the Monday afternoon meeting at the Quai d’Orsay, two senior French diplomats told the US official that Kushner’s letter was “unacceptable both in substance and in form.”

Kushner, a real-estate developer and father of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, expressed in his letter to French President Emmanuel Macron “deep concern over the dramatic rise of antisemitism in France and the lack of sufficient action by your government to confront it.”

“The criticisms expressed by the ambassador amounted to interference in the internal affairs of our country and conveyed an assessment that did not reflect the reality of France’s steadfast mobilization in combating the scourge of antisemitism,” says the diplomatic source.

“The chargé d’affaires was reminded in particular of the key measures implemented under the National Action Plan against Racism, Antisemitism and Discrimination based on Origin, as well as of the French framework holding digital platforms accountable for the removal of hateful and violence-inciting content.”

The US official responded that Kushner is eager to work with France on combating antisemitism, according to the French source.

The French diplomats responded, the source says, that France is ready to follow up on bilateral discussions on antisemitism that took place in November 2024, “provided that our discussions take place in a climate of trust and in a constructive spirit, as can be expected from the United States.”