Paris backpedals after war-of-words with US threatens ambassador pick

France has apologized for having previously claimed Washington is no longer a “beacon of human rights” France has backed down in a diplomatic fight with the US, expressing regret for publicly questioning Washington’s commitment to human rights after the dispute threatened to derail Paris’ choice of ambassador. The spat began in July, when France’s mission to the UN in Geneva attacked the US for joining Russia, North Korea and several other countries in voting against another term for Volker Turk, the Austrian diplomat who serves as the UN high commissioner for human rights. “The US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore,” the French mission wrote at the time, adding that “the world no longer listens to it.

” Washington responded angrily, with the US delegation demonstratively walking out while France was speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine, and accusing Paris of “disingenuous grandstanding” and “condescending and disrespectful rhetoric. ” Reuters later reported that the Trump administration was also considering delaying or blocking French President Emmanuel Macron’s nominee for ambassador to Washington. Two months later, Paris has changed its tune. “The Permanent Mission of France to the UN in Geneva regrets the 25 July 2026 message posted on X that called into question the US commitment to human rights,” the mission said in a statement published on Friday. Macron laments that US is not a reliable partner It went on to praise the US as one of the architects of the UN Charter and Universal Declaration of Human Rights, stressing that the two countries remain historic allies committed to “freedom, democracy, and human dignity. ” The US State Department welcomed the statement, saying Washington “notes and appreciates” France’s position. The episode…