France objects to Orbán being put forward for UN Secretary-General

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has publicly opposed the possible nomination of Hungary's former prime minister, Viktor Orbán, as Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN). The statement was relayed by the French Foreign Ministry and cited by the Ukrainian outlet European Pravda. The issue matters because the Secretary-General leads the world's main intergovernmental organisation, and candidates need the backing of major powers.

What the French minister said

Barrot stressed that the post of UN Secretary-General is not meant to be a "consolation prize" for a leader who lost an election and was removed by his own people. He also said France cannot accept that the UN could be fundamentally undermined and paralysed by major powers that prefer to rely on the actions of extremist fringe groups in order to impose the law of the strongest.

What is known about the idea

The source refers to a report by The Wall Street Journal, according to which the administration of the US president is pushing the former Hungarian prime minister's candidacy for the post. It is reportedly counting on support from China and Russia.

As early as May, investigative journalists reported that circles around the MAGA wing of the US Republican Party were considering a scenario in which Orbán would obtain a UN post and shield himself from prosecution in his home country.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had earlier responded to the possibility of such a nomination. His Polish counterpart, Radosław Sikorski, finds such reports amusing.