US Walks Out on France During UN Speech

US diplomats walked out as their French counterparts were speaking at the United Nations on Monday after France criticized the Trump administration's human rights record, per the AP. The surprise move during a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine followed US opposition to giving UN human rights chief Volker Turk another four-year term. The reappointment on Friday got overwhelming support, including from France.

What sparked the walkout was a social media post Friday from France's UN Mission in Geneva criticizing US 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," the French mission tweeted. "Not anymore. Today, it stands alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali & Russia, isolated. And the world no longer listens to it."

After Monday's brief walkout, deputy US ambassador Dan 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 imperiled" and tolerated its grandstanding "out of a sense of camaraderie and mutual respect," he said, but no more. Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the UN, in responding on X, accused France of coddling "some of the worst human rights abusers," though he did not elaborate.