France summons the American ambassador following accusations that France is silent on anti-Semitism.

France summoned the American ambassador in Paris after diplomat Charles Kushner wrote a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron claiming that France had not made sufficient efforts to combat anti-Semitism.

The French Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Sunday announcing that it had summoned Kushner to appear on Monday at the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, and that his claims were "unacceptable".

The statement, revealed by CBS News, said: "France strongly rejects these allegations." "The rise in anti-Semitic acts in France since October 7, 2023, is a reality we deeply regret, and the French authorities are mobilizing all their efforts to confront it, as such acts are intolerable."

The French ministry also stated that Kushner's claims "contradict international law," referring to "the commitment not to interfere in the internal affairs of states" as stipulated in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961.

The statement added: "They also do not rise to the level of the transatlantic partnership between France and the United States, nor to the level of trust that should prevail among allies."

The White House and the U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Summoning the ambassador serves as an official and public notice of discontent.

The content of the letter was not disclosed.

This dispute follows Macron's rejection last week of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's accusations that France's intention to recognize a Palestinian state fuels anti-Semitism.

France is home to the largest Jewish community in Western Europe, estimated at around 500,000 Jews, representing about 1% of the country's population.

This diplomatic dispute comes at a time when French-American relations have faced tensions this year amid the trade war initiated by Trump. Under a decree signed by Mr. Trump last month, international goods that were previously exempt from U.S. tariffs—those valued under $800—will be subject to import duties starting August 29.

France will join many postal services across Europe on Monday in suspending shipments of many parcels to the United States amid uncertainty over the new import duties.

The two allies are divided over the future of United Nations peacekeeping forces in Lebanon. France has specifically objected to U.S. efforts to end the peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL, with the UN Security Council scheduled to vote on this issue at the end of the month. France and the United States have also been divided over support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, but this division has lessened with Trump's announcement of support for security guarantees and his friendly meeting with Macron and other European leaders at the White House last week.

Charles Kushner, a real estate developer, is the father of President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and was convicted in 2004, serving two years in prison before being released on August 25, 2006. At the end of his first presidential term, Trump granted him a pardon.

His son Jared is a former senior advisor to Trump in the White House and is married to his eldest daughter, Ivanka.