Washington (United States) (AFP) – France’s new ambassador to the United States, Aurelien Lechevallier, officially took up his post this week, the French embassy said Thursday, after his appointment had been delayed due to a diplomatic spat between Paris and Washington.
“I wanted…to tell you all how honored I am to represent France in the US and to continue to keep the French-American relationship alive,” Lechevallier said in French in a video message posted by the embassy on X. “I look forward to being part of that relationship, to meeting many of you and to continuing to build and strengthen ties between our two countries,” he said in a separate English video message.
The French embassy stated that Lechevallier — the former chief of staff of French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot — had on Tuesday “presented a copy of his credentials to Ambassador Monica Crowley, Chief of Protocol of the United States, marking the start of his mission.”
Lechevallier had been selected by French President Emmanuel Macron to replace the previous envoy, Laurent Bili, over the summer, but his appointment was thrown into limbo after a dispute stemming from the UN. On July 24, the United States was one of 10 countries to vote in the UN General Assembly against extending Volker Turk’s term as UN human rights chief, joining the ranks of North Korea, Russia, and Nicaragua, among others.
“The US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore,” the French mission wrote in a post on X after the United States strongly opposed another term by Turk, who has repeatedly questioned US policies under President Donald Trump. The criticism was met with immediate backlash from Washington, with the US representative walking out of a UN Security Council meeting days later when France’s ambassador took the floor, in protest of the comments.
The French UN mission apologized in September for the critique, a mea culpa that was well-received by Washington and cleared the way for Lechevallier’s appointment.
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