The Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations is led by Ambassador Nicolas de Rivière, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations and former Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. He presented his credentials to António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, on 8 July 2019. The Permanent Mission acts as the interface between the United Nations’ authorities in New York and the French authorities. The Permanent Representative and the Deputy Permanent Representative sit at the Security Council, of which France is one of the five permanent members, and on all the organs in which France is represented, notably the UN General Assembly, its various committees and the UN Economic and Social Council. They speak on behalf of France to promote its positions. In order to successfully carry out its mandate, the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations has nearly 80 staff members, including about 20 diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, civil servants from other ministries, notably the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Employment. They prepare and negotiate resolutions and texts for adoption by the various UN organs. The Permanent Mission endeavors to promote the use of French in the work of the UN. Staff members of the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations also organize visits by the French authorities to the UN headquarters, notably during the general debate that opens the annual session of the UN General Assembly, which traditionally takes place in September. The Permanent Mission includes the Military Mission of France to the United Nations as well as a financial agency and its commercial department which represents the Ministry for the Economy, Industry and Employment. The military mission is mainly responsible for monitoring UN peacekeeping operations and the use of national military and police contributions. It is led by Head of the Defense Mission Roland Margueritte who is also the representative of the Chief of the Defense Staff for the French armed forces to the UN Military Staff Committee. A detachment of the national police is responsible for ensuring the security of the premises of the Permanent Mission at all times.
