PARIS, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The death of French far-right activist Quentin Deranque has intensified political tensions in France and sparked diplomatic frictions abroad, as investigations continue and security concerns escalate.

On Monday, U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner was summoned to the French Foreign Ministry after the U.S. Embassy wrote on social media platform X on Friday that "violent left-wing extremism is on the rise, and its role in Quentin Deranque's death demonstrates the threat it poses to public safety."

In an interview with French media on Sunday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the U.S. embassy had commented on what he described as a tragedy concerning "the national community," prompting the government to summon the ambassador.

Barrot said France rejects "any instrumentalization of this tragedy" for political purposes, adding that the country has "no lessons to receive on the issue of violence, particularly from the reactionary international."

According to French media reports, Deranque was seriously injured during a clash between rival radical groups at a conference in Lyon on Feb. 12. The event was organized by a member of the hard-left party La France Insoumise (LFI). He later succumbed to his injuries.

The incident has intensified political polarization in France. On Feb. 18, LFI's headquarters in Paris was evacuated following a bomb threat, party coordinator Manuel Bompard said. Police were dispatched to the scene. The alert was lifted around midday, and all staff and activists were reported safe.

Bompard called on public authorities to "guarantee a dignified and healthy democratic debate," amid what French media described as heightened tensions and a series of attacks targeting LFI offices nationwide in the wake of Deranque's death.

French daily Le Parisien reported on Monday that seven people have so far been charged in connection with Deranque's death, including a parliamentary assistant to Raphael Arnault, an LFI member.

The case has also drawn reactions from abroad. On Feb. 19, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed shock and sorrow in a post on X, calling the death of the young activist "a wound for the whole of Europe." She said no political idea or ideological confrontation could justify violence and warned that when hatred replaces dialogue, democracy suffers.

Her remarks prompted a sharp response from French President Emmanuel Macron. Speaking in New Delhi during an official visit to India, Macron asked Meloni to refrain from "commenting on what happens in other countries," according to France's BFM TV.

"I am always struck by the fact that those who are nationalist and do not want to be bothered at home are always the first to comment on what is happening elsewhere," Macron said, in an apparent rebuke of the Italian leader's statement.

As investigations proceed and political leaders exchange accusations, the incident has underscored deepening ideological divisions within France and highlighted the sensitivity of cross-border political commentary in an increasingly polarized European landscape. ■