The story begins with the rank amateurs that make up the current administration, in this case the US Ambassador to France whose qualification is being the father-in-law to the daughter of the president (no nepotism here) and rocks the older male version of the Mar-a-lago Face. Pretty typical CV for this crowd.

As an aside, one of the most wonderful signs ever held up during a demonstration was displayed by a woman in Greenland, referring to the US administration as a "kindergarten".

Back on point, the ambassador took to social media and posted that "violent left-wing extremism is on the rise" in France, after an ultra-right nationalist student was beaten (and subsequently died) by six masked men. Also arrested for complicity was a staffer to a parliamentarian from the LFI, a far-left party in France. The party disavowed the staffer and publicly stated an opposition to violence (as one would expect).

The display of a rather "unique" interpretation of protocol continued when the Foreign Minister summoned the US Ambassador over his comments. The Ambassador actually declined the summons and sent a deputy of some sort.

The Foreign Minister has now quite properly called for the Ambassador to be denied access to members of the French Government, citing an "apparent failure to grasp the basic requirements of the ambassadorial mission".

What attracts my attention is this deliciously proper, concise, and accurate statement by the Foreign Minister:

"We have no lessons to learn, particularly on the issue of violence, from the international reactionary movement." (French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot)