International Criminal Court – Conversation between Jean-Noël Barrot, the ICC President and the French judge (September 10, 2025)

On September 9, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot spoke with Tomoko Akane, President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and Nicolas Guillou, a French judge at the ICC.

The Minister reiterated France’s support for the activities of the ICC – the only permanent international criminal court with universal jurisdiction and a pillar of the international criminal justice system.

France calls on the United States to withdraw all sanctions based on the executive order of February 6, 2025. Those sanctions are an attack on the Court and on all the States Parties to the Rome Statute.

The Minister reaffirmed France’s total commitment to ensuring that the Court and its staff can continue fulfilling their vital mission of combating impunity in an independent, impartial manner.