Prateek Tanmay
France’s President Emmanuel Macron. (Photo: AP) The dramatic US walkout from a UN Security Council meeting on Monday as French diplomats began speaking was the most visible sign yet of a deepening rift between President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, according to the Associated Press (AP).
What’s driving the tension between the two leaders?
The strain goes well beyond a single UN vote. It touches on Trump’s uncertain commitment to NATO, the possibility of changes to US troop deployments across Europe, and Trump’s stated interest in bringing Greenland a territory belonging to NATO member Denmark under US control.
Trump has also complained that European allies, whom he says were not consulted, failed to support the US during the Iran war.
How has Macron responded?
Amid the friction, Macron has positioned himself at the front of efforts to build up Europe’s own military strength and extend a nuclear umbrella across the continent, AP reported, drawing on France’s status as one of Europe’s two nuclear powers alongside Britain.
The push reflects a broader European effort to reduce reliance on Washington at a moment when that reliance looks less certain than before.
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How did the UN walkout fit into this?
The immediate spark was a social media post from France’s UN Mission in Geneva, criticising US opposition to a second term for UN human rights chief Volker Türk, whose reappointment passed on Friday with broad support, including from France, AP reported.
Deputy US ambassador Dan Negrea responded sharply at Monday’s meeting, accusing France of feigning “moral outrage” and declaring that the US would not tolerate what he called its grandstanding any longer. He said, “we will not be affording them the benefit of listening to their politicized drivel until they renounce their condescending and disrespectful rhetoric.”
Did France address the walkout directly?
France’s UN Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont did not mention the walkout when he took the floor later in the meeting.
Instead, he pointed to France’s historical role in helping the US gain independence and its participation in July 4 celebrations marking America’s 250th anniversary, framing France’s UN role around preserving the institution’s independence and its founding commitment to peace and human rights.
