PARIS: Charles Kushner shows no interest in learning French, pays little heed to the strict codes of Parisian bureaucracy and causes consternation in the nation that shaped modern diplomacy. Since arriving in Paris last summer, President Donald Trump's top emissary to France has upended French expectations of how a US ambassador should behave, underlining a brash new breed of America-first diplomacy across Europe.
The choice of Kushner for a job once held by Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson has long raised eyebrows in Paris.
Open letter to Macron
A property mogul with no previous diplomatic experience, Kushner served a federal US jail sentence for illegal campaign contributions and tax evasion, but was pardoned by Trump in 2020. His son Jared is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka. Kushner landed with a bang in Paris, writing an open letter to President Emmanuel Macron weeks after his arrival in which he accused France of not doing enough to tackle antisemitism.
Macron called Kushner's comments an "unacceptable statement for somebody who is supposed to be a diplomat," and the envoy was summoned to the foreign ministry, but did not show up. Kushner, 71, also failed to appear on Monday when summoned after the embassy re-posted on X comments by the US State Department's Counterterrorism bureau following the killing of a French far-right activist. A French diplomatic source said Kushner would be barred from meeting government officials after Monday's no-show. Kushner called Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, a source close to Barrot said on Tuesday, and "expressed his desire not to interfere in our public debate." They agreed to meet in the coming days, the source added. The US Embassy in Paris said in a statement that Kushner and Barrot "spoke today in a frank and amicable call, reaffirming their shared commitment to working together, along with all other Ministers and French officials, on the many issues that impact the United States and France, particularly as the two countries celebrate 250 years of rich diplomatic relations."
