France Regrets Diplomatic Spat with US Over UN Human Rights Vote
Paris expresses regret over an X post criticising Washington as dispute threatens approval of France’s next US ambassador
By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – France mission to the Un in Geneva on Monday said it regretted an online post criticizing how the US voted during a meeting of the UN General Assembly.
In its late July post on X, the French mission had criticized the US for joining countries including Russia and North Korea in voted against the extension of UN human rights chief Volker Turk’s term.
According to reports, the diplomatic dispute has delayed the arrival of the new French ambassador in Washington.
In a post on social media platform X in late July, the French mission criticized the US for joining countries including Russia and North Korea in voting against the extension of UN human rights chief Volker Turk’s term.
The message had reportedly angered Washington, which responded by walking out of a UN Security Council meeting as France spoke.
US weighed blocking France’s choice as its next ambassador in Washington.
France’s permanent mission to the UN stated that it regrets the X post criticizing the United States’ commitment to human rights.
“The Permanent Mission of France to the UN in Geneva regrets the 25 July 2026 message posted on X that called into question the U.S. commitment to human rights,” the mission stated.
“France and the United States recently took different positions on a vote at the United Nations General Assembly. This difference concerned one vote, and not the defence of human rights,” added the English statement shared on its website.
It stated that public differences of opinion on one vote do not stand in the way of close dialogue with the United States, and do not call into question our “historical alliance, nor our ability to work together to advance peace, stability and prosperity, including within multilateral forums”.
France’s apology is expected to open the way for its nominee as next ambassador to the US, Aurelien Lechevallier, to be approved by Washington.
A former Elysee aide, Lechevallier presently serves as Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot chief of staff.
