The new French ambassador to Washington, Aurélien Lechevallier, finally obtained his approval after a blockage of several weeks

The new French ambassador to Washington will be able to take up his duties after having obtained his approval from the American authorities on Tuesday September 15, assured a State Department official, putting an end to several weeks of blockage.

Aurélien Lechevallier’s taking up post in the United States had been hampered since the end of July due to a diplomatic quarrel between the two countries. His arrival in Washington is now expected in the coming weeks.

The dispute began on July 24 when France’s mission to the United Nations (UN) in Geneva posted a message on “The United States was once a model for human rights. This is no longer the case ».

A gesture of appeasement from Paris

Washington then quickly left a meeting of the UN Security Council on July 27 to denounce the comments “hypocrites” of France, then blocked the approval procedure of Aurélien Lechevallier, current chief of staff of the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot.

After discussions to resolve this dispute, the Permanent Mission of France to the UN in Geneva published a press release, in English only, on Friday, emphasizing that the divergence between the two countries “was about a single vote and did not concern the defense of human rights. » A State Department official then declared ” appreciate “ the gesture, paving the way for obtaining approval.

To exercise his functions, an ambassador appointed by his country must receive approval from the host country, usually a simple formality in the case of a French ambassador to the United States, an allied country.

Laurent Bili, the departing ambassador to Washington, must remain in post until the arrival of Aurélien Lechevallier.