- The US walked out of a UN meeting after France criticised its human rights record
- France supported Volker Turk's reappointment as UN rights chief, opposed by the US
- US diplomats accused France of disrespect and feigned moral outrage during the meeting
A bitter standoff unfolded between the United States and its close European ally France at the United Nations when the American diplomat walked out as their French counterparts criticised the Trump administration's human rights record. The walkout by US diplomats reflects growing strains in ties between US President Donald Trump and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron.
The surprise move came during a UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Ukraine after the US opposed another four-year term for UN human rights chief Volker Turk. The reappointment on Friday got overwhelming support, including from France.
What Sparked The Walkout
The walkout was prompted by a social media post from France's US Mission in Geneva criticising America's opposition to a second term for the UN rights chief. The General Assembly voted 144-10 with 13 abstentions in support of Turk, with the US among the "no" votes.
"The US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore. Today, it stands alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali & Russia, isolated. And the world no longer listens to it," the French Mission tweeted.
US' Grudge
At Monday's UNSC meeting, deputy US ambassador Dan Negrea drilled in on France.
"Today, I remind them that it is the United States that remains the beacon of liberty for the world," he said.
"As such, we will not be affording them the benefit of listening to their politicised drivel until they renounce their condescending and disrespectful rhetoric and behave in a manner commensurate with their seat on this council."
After the walkout, Negrea accused France of feigning "moral outrage" and pretending to lecture the world about every topic, including human rights.
The United States has stood by France in every conflict where its "freedom has been imperilled" and tolerated its grandstanding "out of a sense of camaraderie and mutual respect," he said, but no more.
US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, also responded to French charges on X, accusing France of coddling "some of the worst human rights abusers" and voting "for someone who has been lecturing free, sovereign democracies like the United States, the UK, and Israel, while cosying up to the world's worst oppressors."
Turk's job as the UN rights chief, by its nature, is tricky. It requires speaking out against rights violations by the governments of the countries that make up the membership of the world body. For instance, Turk has sharply criticised Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine and Israel's war in Gaza, as well as having urged a "massive rethink" of US immigration policy before the World Cup, citing issues around "racial profiling, surveillance and immigration enforcement."
France's Reply
France's UN Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont never mentioned the walkout when asked to take the floor at the end of the council meeting to respond.
Instead, he noted that the "United Nations was created with the goal of working towards international peace and security, human rights and development," he said. "All of that forms the spirit in which France works within the United Nations … to preserve this institution, its independence, its ability to act in service of the charter and act to serve human rights and peace."
US-Europe Ties
The action underscores wider tensions between the US and Europe, especially as questions grow over Trump's commitment to NATO, possible changes to US troop deployments in Europe, and Trump's desire to control Greenland, which belongs to NATO member Denmark.
Trump has complained that Europeans, who weren't consulted, did not help the US during the Iran war. Amid the tensions, French President Macron has taken the lead in trying to build up Europe's military and ensure a nuclear umbrella as one of the continent's two nuclear powers, along with Britain.
