Charles Kushner and Jean-Noël Barrot have since “agreed to meet in the coming days to continue working toward a strong bilateral relationship.”Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images

Kushner’s phone call cools France-US diplomatic row — for now – POLITICO

by · POLITICO

PARIS — A diplomatic spat that threatened to torpedo Franco-American ties came to an abrupt close Tuesday with a phone call between U.S. Ambassador Charles Kushner and French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.

A French official close to Barrot said Kushner had called the minister and smoothed things over after the ambassador failed to show up for a diplomatic summons on Monday. Kushner was called to present himself after the U.S. government said the death of a 23-year-old far-right activist in Lyon showed that “violent radical leftism is on the rise.”

The incident could have political repercussions ahead of key municipal elections in France next month.