Posts falsely claim French president sided with Thailand in Cambodia border spat

Published on July 9, 2025 at 11:17
3 min read
By Chayanit ITTHIPONGMAETEE, AFP Thailand

As a diplomatic spat between Thailand and Cambodia continued to fester following a deadly military clash at their shared frontier, an image of French President Emmanuel Macron was shared alongside false claims he presented a treaty giving Bangkok control of land and an ancient temple in the disputed border region. While Macron has offered to help mediate the dispute between Thailand and the former French protectorate, there have been no official reports of either side agreeing to territorial concessions.

"France brings a treaty to Thailand. Likely that Cambodia must return Preah Vihear and other areas -- 13/6/25," reads superimposed Thai-language text on a TikTok video shared on June 15, 2025.

The text on the video -- an image of French President Emmanuel Macron holding a blue folder -- is referring to a 900-year-old temple on the Thai‑Cambodian border that has been the site of sporadic violence between the Southeast Asian neighbours.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in 2013 that the area around the ancient temple belongs to Cambodia (archived link).

Screenshot of the false TikTok post captured on July 8, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

The image was also shared alongside similar claims elsewhere on TikTok and YouTube.

The claim surfaced against the background of a longstanding territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes in May, killing one Cambodian soldier.

Cambodia said it would file a complaint with the ICJ; Thailand, meanwhile, says it does not recognise the court's jurisdiction on this matter and prefers to solve the issue using existing bilateral channels (archived here and here).

According to a Khmer Times report, Macron expressed a willingness in late June to help mediate the border dispute between the former French protectorate and Thailand (archived link).

Local broadcaster NBT World also reported that Macron spoke with the now-suspended Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on June 27, who reiterated the kingdom's commitment to a "peaceful resolution through bilateral dialogue" (archived here and here).

But as of July 9, there have been no official reports about Macron presenting a treaty that would cede ownership of Preah Vihear or the surrounding area to Thailand.

Unrelated photo

A reverse image search on Google led to the same image of Macron in a Facebook post published by a Cambodian government agency on June 11 (archived here and here).

Its caption states it shows Macron and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet meeting in Nice on June 10.

Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared image (left) and the photo shared by a Cambodian government agency (right)

A similar photo of the leaders' meeting can be viewed in AFP's archives.

According to a press release from the Cambodian government, the two leaders welcomed "growing bilateral cooperation" (archived link).

A Khmer Times report added they discussed Cambodia’s position on resolving the border dispute with Thailand, and Macron offered to help by providing both sides with documents if necessary (archived link).

AFP has debunked other misinformation related to the Cambodia-Thailand border dispute.

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