French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot has announced he will summon US ambassador Charles Kushner over remarks made by American officials following the killing of far-right activist Quentin Deranque. The summons comes after US social media accounts linked Deranque’s death to what they called a rise in ‘violent radical leftism’.
Deranque, 23, died from head injuries after clashes during a demonstration against a leftwing politician in Lyon last week. Six men have been charged in connection with his death, and a parliamentary assistant has been charged with complicity.
Barrot told French media: “We reject any use of this tragedy, which has plunged a French family into mourning, for political ends. We have no lessons to learn, particularly on the issue of violence, from the international reactionary movement.” He also plans to discuss US sanctions against former EU commissioner Thierry Breton and French judge Nicolas Guillou.
The US embassy in France and the State Department’s counter-terrorism bureau posted on X that the case demonstrated a threat from violent radical leftism. The State Department’s under secretary for public diplomacy, Sarah Rogers, described the killing as “terrorism”. Donald Trump’s administration denounced what it called terrorism in France, prompting pushback from Paris.
The killing has also stirred diplomatic tensions with Italy, whose prime minister Giorgia Meloni described it as “a wound for all of Europe”, drawing a rebuke from French President Emmanuel Macron. More than 3,000 people marched in Lyon on Saturday in tribute to Deranque, with heavy security deployed to prevent further clashes.
