Headlines
France orders some Venezuelan diplomats out in tit-for-tat move
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 22, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
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Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 22, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
France orders Venezuelan diplomats to leave in response to Caracas reducing French embassy staff, escalating diplomatic tensions.
PARIS (Reuters) - France ordered the Venezuelan embassy to reduce its diplomatic staff in Paris on Wednesday, giving some diplomats five days to leave the country in a tit-for-tat move after Caracas ordered French and other European diplomats out.
"This decision is a reciprocal measure following the Venezuelan authorities' decision of Jan. 14 to reduce our diplomatic presence in Caracas on grounds that we categorically reject," the French foreign ministry said in a statement.
Last week Venezuela said it would impose restrictions on French, Italian and Dutch diplomats in Caracas and reduce their embassy personnel to just three, citing their governments' "hostile" response to President Nicolas Maduro's inauguration for a third term.
Two days later, France summoned a senior Venezuelan diplomat in Paris to protest against the decision and warned it would take reciprocal measures.
The Dutch government also ordered Venezuela to cut its diplomatic staff in the Netherlands from four to two in response to Venezuela's decision.
Italy last week also summoned Venezuela's chief diplomat in Rome to protest against the move as well as a lack of information on the fate of an Italian national arrested two months ago.
Several Western nations have not recognised Maduro's victory in Venezuela's July 2024 presidential election. France, Italy and the Netherlands loudly condemned Maduro's inauguration last week, while the United States has offered a $25 million reward for Maduro's arrest.
(Reporting by GV De Clercq; Editing by Dominique Vidalon, Makini Brice, Peter Graff)
The article discusses France's decision to reduce Venezuelan diplomatic staff in response to similar actions by Venezuela.
France's decision was a reciprocal measure after Venezuela reduced French embassy staff in Caracas.
Venezuela cited a 'hostile' response to President Maduro's inauguration as the reason for reducing European diplomats.
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