Overview

• U.S. Ambassador Charles Kushner sent a letter dated Aug. 25 to President Emmanuel Macron, published publicly, that accuses France of insufficient action against a sharp rise in antisemitism.
• France’s foreign ministry called the allegations unacceptable, said authorities are fully mobilized against antisemitic acts, and scheduled Kushner to appear Monday after invoking noninterference obligations under the Vienna Convention.
• Kushner linked the surge to Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack, asserted that anti-Zionism equates to antisemitism, and urged stricter enforcement of hate-crime laws and stronger protection for Jewish communities.
• The letter criticized Macron’s planned recognition of a Palestinian state, echoing recent complaints from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Paris has fueled antisemitism, a charge the Élysée rejected as abject and erroneous.
• France hosts Western Europe’s largest Jewish population, with officials and community reports citing a post–Oct. 7 spike in hate crimes, while the White House and State Department offered no immediate comment on the diplomatic summons.