France summons US envoy over antisemitism allegations

France has summoned U.S. Ambassador Charles Kushner to its Foreign Ministry after he accused Paris of failing to adequately combat antisemitism, sparking a diplomatic rift between two longtime allies.

The French Foreign Ministry announced Sunday that Kushner was summoned to appear at the Quai d’Orsay on Monday, describing his remarks in a letter to President Emmanuel Macron as “unacceptable.”

“France firmly rejects these allegations,” the ministry said in a statement obtained by CBS News. “The rise in antisemitic acts in France since October 7, 2023, is a reality we deeply regret and against which the French authorities are fully mobilized, as such acts are intolerable.”

Officials stressed that Kushner’s letter crossed a line of diplomatic conduct, saying it contravened the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, which prohibits interference in the internal affairs of a host country.

The statement added that the allegations “fall short of the quality of the transatlantic partnership between France and the United States and of the trust that must prevail between allies.”

Neither the White House nor the U.S. State Department immediately commented on the matter. Summoning an ambassador is considered one of the strongest public signals of displeasure in diplomacy.

The controversy comes against a backdrop of heightened sensitivities in France, home to Western Europe’s largest Jewish population, estimated at around 500,000 people about 1% of its population.

Macron last week dismissed accusations from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that France’s support for recognizing a Palestinian state was fueling antisemitism.

Kushner, a New Jersey real estate developer and father-in-law of former White House adviser Jared Kushner, has long been a controversial figure. He was pardoned by President Trump at the end of his first term after pleading guilty years earlier to tax evasion and illegal campaign donations.

The spat also underscores broader strains in Franco-American relations this year. Tensions have already flared over Trump’s trade policies, with new U.S. import duties on low-value international goods set to take effect on August 29.

In response, France and other European postal services plan to suspend many shipments to the U.S. starting Monday.

The two allies remain divided on several global issues, including the future of U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon, where France opposes Washington’s push to scale down the UNIFIL mission.

While disagreements over Ukraine have eased following Trump’s recent expressions of support for European security guarantees, the Kushner episode threatens to reignite friction just as leaders sought to reset ties.