Postal mistakenly says French president quarreled on the side of Thailand at the Cambodian border
As diplomatic quarrels between Thailand and Cambodia continue to worsen after a deadly military conflict on their common border, French President Emmanuel Macron shared with false claims, proposing a treaty that gave Bangkok a treaty on land and ancient temples in disputed border areas. Although Macron offered to help mediate disputes between Thailand and the former French protector, no formal reports from either side agreed to territorial concessions.
“France brings a treaty to Thailand. Cambodia may have to return to Preah Vihear and other regions – 13/6/25.” In a Tiktok video shared on June 15, 2025, texts in Thai language were superimposed.
Text in the video – an image of French President Emmanuel Macron holding a blue folder – refers to a 900-year-old temple on the border of Thailand’s older brother province, home to sporadic violence between neighbors in Southeast Asia.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in 2013 that the area around the ancient temple belongs to Cambodia (archive link).
Screenshot of False Tiktok post was captured on July 8, 2025, AFP added red X
The image is also shared with similar claims from Tiktok and elsewhere in YouTube.
The claim surfaced against the backdrop of a long territorial dispute in May, killing a Cambodian soldier.
Cambodia said it would file a complaint with the ICJ; meanwhile, Thailand said it did not recognize the court’s jurisdiction over the matter and prefers to use existing bilateral channels to resolve the issue (archived here and here).
According to a report by the Khmer Times, Macron said in late June that it would help mediate the border dispute between the former French protector and Thailand (archive link).
Local broadcaster NBT World also reported that Macron spoke to the now pending Thai Prime Minister Paeton tarn Shinawatra on June 27, who reiterated the Kingdom’s commitment to a “peaceful settlement through bilateral dialogue” (archived here and here).
But as of July 9, there has been no official report on Macron’s proposal that would allow Preah Vihear or the surrounding areas of Thailand to possess.
Non-related photos
The reverse image search on Google led to a Facebook post (archived here and here) published by the Cambodian government agency on June 11, which obtained the same image as Macron in Facebook posts.
Its title states that it shows the meeting of Macron and the Huns in Nice on June 10.
Screenshots compare shared images with errors (left) and shared photos by Cambodian government agencies (right)
In AFP’s archives, similar photos of leaders’ meetings can be viewed.
According to a press release from the Cambodian government, the two leaders welcomed the “growing bilateral cooperation” (archive link).
The Khmer Times added that they discussed Cambodia’s position on resolving the border dispute with Thailand, and Macron provided both sides (archived links) to help if necessary.
AFP has debunked other misinformation related to the Cambodia-Thailand border dispute.
