French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barro mixed up Paris with Marseille at the G7 ministerial meeting

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barro, greeting his counterparts from the Group of Seven in Paris, called the capital Marseille and immediately corrected himself. This is already the second amusing episode involving the diplomat recently: earlier, his microphone cut out during a speech, after which he jokingly blamed Russia, China, and MAGA supporters.

Aziz KarimovFirst published on tafs uz 9 November 2026 at 20:311 min read

The key facts

Jean-Noël Barro made a slip of the tongue at the G7 ministerial meeting in Paris, calling the city Marseille
Earlier, the minister's microphone cut out at the Bpifrance conference, and he jokingly blamed Russia, China, and MAGA

A slip of the tongue at the G7 meeting

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barro made a slip of the tongue during a meeting with his foreign counterparts from the Group of Seven. While welcoming participants to the event in Paris, he unexpectedly called the French capital Marseille, drawing laughter from those present. 'Welcome to Marseille... Sorry, welcome to Paris!' the diplomat said, as reported by Life.ru.

Not the first awkward episode

This is not the only awkward situation involving the head of the French Foreign Ministry in recent times. As Life.ru reported, earlier, during a speech at the Bpifrance conference Barro's microphone suddenly cut out, and the moment was caught on the event's broadcast. The diplomat jokingly suggested that Russia, China, and supporters of the American MAGA movement were trying to silence him.