France vs US at the UN? What Actually Happened During the Security Council Session
US delegation walked out of a UN Security Council meeting this week, and the real story isn’t just the walkout itself, it’s the days-long diplomatic feud that triggered it. Here is exactly why it happened.
It started with a vote, not an insult. On Friday, the United Nations General Assembly voted 144-10 to reappoint Volker Türk as UN human rights chief for another 4 years. The US voted against him, joining a small bloc that includes likes of Russia and North Korea.
France called the US out publicly. France’s “UN Mission in Geneva” posted online, stating that the US was “no longer a beacon of human rights,” saying it now stood “isolated” alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali, and Russia for that vote.
The US saw it as a personal attack, not diplomacy. The US Ambassador Mike Waltz fired back, accusing France of defending a human rights chief who criticizes democracies like the US and Israel while also “cozying up to the world’s worst oppressors.”
The walkout happened during an unrelated meeting. Two days later, at a Security Council session about Russia’s war in Ukraine, US representative Dan Negrea led the delegation out when France’s ambassador began speaking, calling France’s earlier remarks “politicized drivel” and “disingenuous grandstanding.”
France didn’t take the bait. Ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont didn’t bother addressing the walkout when he spoke, instead referencing France’s historic role in America’s founding and the July 4th anniversary celebrations just weeks earlier.
This clash adds a broader strain between the two allies, who have clashed recently over NATO spending, trade policy, and Trump’s stated interest in acquiring Greenland.
