The French Foreign Ministry will summon the American ambassador to Paris following comments made by the Trump administration on the murder of a French far-right activist blamed on the far left, France’s top diplomat said on Sunday.
The death of Quentin Deranque has put France under strain, triggering tensions between the left and the right in the run-up to the 2027 presidential election.
It also provoked international reactions, with US President Donald Trump’s right-wing administration denouncing what it called “terrorism” in France on Friday.
“We are going to summon the United States ambassador to France, since the American embassy in France has commented on this drama (…) which concerns the national community,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noël 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 Foreign Ministry did not say when Ambassador Charles Kushner – the father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner – would be summoned.
Deranque, 23, died from head injuries following clashes between supporters of the radical left and the far right on the sidelines of a February 12 demonstration against a politician from the left-wing La France Insoumise (LFI) party in Lyon.
More than 3,000 people marched in Lyon on Saturday in tribute to Deranque, with authorities deploying heavy security fearing further clashes.
On Friday, Sarah Rogers, the State Department’s undersecretary for public diplomacy, said Deranque’s killing showed “why we treat political violence — terrorism — so harshly.”
“Once you decide to kill people for their opinions instead of persuading them, you exclude yourself from civilization,” she wrote on X.
The State Department’s Office of Counterterrorism released separately: “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 message shared in French by the US embassy account.
Deranque’s assassination also sparked a diplomatic row between France and Italy, whose right-wing Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, has warm ties with Trump.
She called Deranque’s assassination “an injury to all of Europe”, prompting French President Emmanuel Macron to criticize her for speaking out on French internal affairs.
Six men suspected of being involved in the fatal attack have been charged over the murder, while a parliamentary aide to a radical left MP has also been charged with complicity.
