I think the problem is not in "É". I just tried this:
JSON.parse("A".to_json)
JSON::ParserError: 757: unexpected token at '"A"'
, , .
, "É" JSON, to_json , , . , :
JSON.parse({'key' => 'É'}.to_json)
docs:
JSON.generate JSON . to_json, , Ruby,
(.to_json JSON.generate)