France’s foreign ministry will summon the US ambassador to Paris over comments by the Trump administration about the killing of a French far-right activist blamed on the hard left, France’s top diplomat said on Sunday.
The death of Quentin Deranque has put France on edge and ignited left-right tensions ahead of a 2027 presidential vote.
It has also sparked international reactions, with US President Donald Trump’s right-wing administration on Friday condemning what it called “terrorism” in France.
“We will summon the US ambassador to France, as the US embassy in France commented on this tragedy … which concerns the national community,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told French media. Le Monde, France Inter and France Info.
“We reject any attempt to use this tragedy … for political purposes,” he added.
The State Department did not say when Ambassador Charles Kushner – the father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner – would be summoned.
Deranque, 23, died of head injuries following clashes between radical-left and far-right supporters on the sidelines of a February 12 demonstration against a politician from the left-wing France Unbowed (LFI) party in Lyon.
More than 3,000 people marched in Lyon on Saturday to pay tribute to Deranque, with authorities deploying heavy security fearing further clashes.
On Friday, Sarah Rogers, the State Department under secretary for public diplomacy, said Deranque’s killing showed “why we treat political violence – terrorism – so harshly”.
“When you decide to kill people for their opinions instead of persuading them, you have opted out of civilization,” she wrote on X.
Separately, the State Department’s Office of Counterterrorism wrote: “Violent radical leftism is on the rise, and its role in the death of Quentin Deranque demonstrates the threat it poses to public safety” — a post shared in French by the US embassy’s account.
Deranque’s killing has also caused a diplomatic feud between France and Italy, whose right-wing prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has warm ties to Trump.
She called Deranque’s killing “a wound for all of Europe”, prompting French President Emmanuel Macron to criticize her for speaking out on French domestic affairs.
Six men suspected of being involved in the fatal assault have been charged with the murder, while a parliamentary assistant to a radical left-wing MP has also been charged with complicity.
