Aurélien Lechevallier appointed Ambassador of France to the United States of America

Aurélien Lechevallier is appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the French Republic to the United States of America. The appointment is established by a decree dated September 24, 2026, published in the Official Journal of the French Republic on September 25, 2026 (JORF No. 0224), under the reference NOR: EAEA2619506D. The text, attached to the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, consists of two articles: the first concerns the appointment, and the second entrusts the implementation of the decree to the Prime Minister and the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

The decree follows the ordinary procedure for the appointment of heads of diplomatic missions, formalized by a regulatory text published in the Official Journal. It designates a third-grade state administrator to represent France in the United States, within a context of continuous renewal of the French diplomatic network since the beginning of August 2026.

The exact content of the decree

• Article 1: Mr. Aurélien Lechevallier, third-grade state administrator, is appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the French Republic to the United States of America.
• Article 2: the Prime Minister and the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs are responsible, each as it concerns them, for the implementation of the decree.
• Publication: decree of September 24, 2026, JORF No. 0224 of September 25, 2026, NOR: EAEA2619506D.

A large-scale diplomatic reshuffle

The same Official Journal publishes another appointment within the network: Ludovic Royer, Consul General of France in Moscow (NOR: EAEA2620391D). The preceding weeks saw a comparable series of ambassadorial appointments:

• Hélène Farnaud-Defromont, Ambassador to Canada (August 3, 2026);
• Jean-Pierre Asvazadourian, Ambassador to Portugal (August 3, 2026);
• Nicolas Kassianides, Ambassador to Greece (August 3, 2026);
• Claudia Scherer-Effosse, Ambassador to Croatia (August 3, 2026);
• François Decoster, Ambassador to New Zealand (August 3, 2026);
• Kévin Thuillier, Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina (August 18, 2026);
• David Martinon, Ambassador to the Commonwealth of Australia (August 18, 2026);
• Florian Escudie, Ambassador to Armenia (August 18, 2026);
• Alexandre Garcia, Ambassador to Iraq (August 18, 2026);
• Dominique Delpuech, Ambassador to Liberia (August 18, 2026);
• Christophe Lemoine, Ambassador to the Principality of Monaco (August 18, 2026);
• Brieuc Pont, Ambassador to Mozambique (August 18, 2026);
• François Vandeville, Ambassador to Thailand (August 26, 2026);
• Sonia Doña Pérez, Ambassador to Equatorial Guinea (September 23, 2026).

The position and its administrative environment

The French network in the United States appears in several recent texts. The decision of August 24, 2026, establishing the distribution of jobs within the cultural and cooperation network (NOR: EAEA2621970S, JORF No. 0211 of September 10, 2026) mentions the Institut français des États-Unis - Villa Albertine and its Washington branch. The order of September 15, 2026, establishing by country the rates for the expatriation allowance, the geographic and specific functions allowance, the foreign residence allowance, and the supplementary allowance (NOR: EAEA2621749A, JORF No. 0218 of September 18, 2026) includes a line for “United States RP (Washington - OEA)”.

The appointment of Aurélien Lechevallier places a third-grade State Administrator at the head of the French representation in the United States, within a context of accelerated renewal of heads of post. The decree provides for its publication in the Official Journal of the French Republic, making the appointment public and accessible to any citizen.

Source: Journal officiel de la République française, JORF No. 0224 of September 25, 2026, decree of September 24, 2026, NOR: EAEA2619506D.