Trump administration withholds agrément for French envoy Lechevallier after UN tweet dispute
The U.S. State Department has refused to grant agrément to Aurélien Lechevallier, the French nominee to replace Laurent Bili as ambassador, citing a diplomatic clash over a French UN mission tweet that criticized Washington.
Washington has not yet issued the agrément required to confirm Aurélien Lechevallier as France's new ambassador to the United States, leaving the post vacant after Laurent Bili's departure. The stalemate stems from a tweet issued by the French mission to the United Nations that accused the United States of abandoning its role as a champion of human rights and placed it alongside Russia, North Korea and Nicaragua. This statement followed a U.S. vote against the renewal of Volker Türk's mandate at the UN human-rights office.
Diplomatic sources indicate that the Trump administration interpreted the tweet as a direct affront and chose to retaliate by blocking Lechevallier, who is known to be a longtime confidant of President Emmanuel Macron. Adding complexity, the U.S. ambassador to France, Charles Kushner, has previously been summoned over remarks on French domestic politics, and he maintains a relationship with French foreign-minister chief of staff Jean-Noël Barrot.
France has asked Washington to delete the tweet and issue a public apology; the United States responded by demanding both actions and a new statement celebrating shared democratic values, a message that was never delivered. The dispute continues to hinder the normalization of bilateral diplomatic relations.
