---
category: Intelligence & Government
summary: Charles Lucet was a senior French foreign ministry official who served as
  deputy ambassador in Washington D.C.
tags:
- Person
- CIA
- Politician
- Israel
- Diplomat
---

Charles Lucet was a senior French foreign ministry official who served as deputy ambassador in [Washington, D.C.](/places/washington-dc/) in the late 1950s and later became ambassador in 1965. At a 1962 Washington dinner party, he was publicly reprimanded by [John A. McCone](/people/john-a-mccone/), then [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) director, for [France](/places/france/)'s role in the Israeli bomb. When McCone asked if [France](/places/france/) was building a reprocessing plant for the Israelis, Lucet replied with [France](/places/france/)'s public position: "No, we are building a reactor." McCone then turned his back on Lucet and did not speak to him for the rest of the evening, a pointed rebuff given [France](/places/france/)'s high standing with President [John F. Kennedy](/people/john-f-kennedy/) and his wife.[^1]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 9.