The Quai d'Orsay summoned American ambassador Charles Kushner to the French Foreign Ministry Monday evening, <link url='https://www.franceinfo.fr/faits-divers/mort-de-quentin-militant-identitaire-agresse-a-lyon/nous-refusons-toute-instrumentalisation-paris-convoque-l-ambassadeur-americain-apres-que-l-administration-trump-a-declare-suivre-de-pres-l-enquete-sur-la-mort-de-quentin-deranque_7822595.html'>FranceInfo reported</link>, after the United States Embassy in Paris issued a statement declaring it would "follow closely" the investigation into the death of Quentin Deranque, a far-right activist killed in Lyon earlier this month.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced the diplomatic summons during an appearance on the FranceInfo program "Questions politiques," rejecting what he termed "any instrumentalization of this tragedy for political purposes." The statement represented a rare public rebuke of American interference in French domestic affairs, invoking traditions of Gaullist sovereignty that date to the founding principles of the Fifth Republic.
"We refuse any instrumentalization of this drama," Barrot declared Sunday, adding that France had "no lessons to receive concerning violence, particularly from the reactionary international." The phrase—l'internationale réactionnaire—carried deliberate historical weight, inverting the socialist anthem to characterize what French officials view as coordinated far-right movements operating across Western democracies.
The American Embassy's original statement had asserted that "left-wing violent extremism is on the rise" and that Deranque's death "demonstrates the threat it poses to public security." The Embassy pledged to continue monitoring the situation and expressed hope that "those responsible for this violence will be brought to justice"—language French officials interpreted as presuming conclusions about an ongoing judicial investigation.

