Out of anger over the depiction of the Falkland Islands, a sticky note had to be stuck on a world map in the French National Assembly during the Argentine ambassador’s hearing.
Jan 22, 2026, 1:26 p.mJan 22, 2026, 1:26 p.m
At the beginning of his questioning, Ambassador Ian Sielecki told the Foreign Affairs Committee that he unfortunately had to point out a major problem. “I’ve just realized that I’m sitting in front of a map that shows the Falkland Islands as part of Great Britain.”
Here the controversial map is pasted over.Image: x
This is also a legal problem, said Sielecki, who was directly in front of the map section with the archipelago in the South Atlantic. «As a representative of the Argentine state, I cannot speak freely in front of this map. That would legitimize a situation that represents a violation, an attack on the sovereignty of my country, on the honor of the very Argentine nation.”
The Falkland Islands are located here:
The committee chairman, Bruno Fuchs, first pointed out that the islands were in brackets on the map. So we know that this is a disputed area. But the Argentine followed up: “It’s like asking the Ukrainian ambassador to speak in front of a map that shows Luhansk or Crimea as a legitimate part of Russia.” Was there some way to cover the map during his hearing? When the suggestion came from the room to use a Post-it note, the ambassador replied: “It would be very good if you could do that.”
After this solution was proposed, Sielecki began his thematic presentation. A few minutes later, an MP put the sticky note on the world map and covered the Falkland Islands.
The Falkland Islands have been under British administration since 1833. In 1982 Argentina attacked the islands. After several defeats by Argentine forces, both sides signed a ceasefire. Argentina continues to lay claim to the archipelago it calls Islas Malvinas. In 2013, the islands’ residents voted by a large majority to remain part of Great Britain. (dab/sda/dpa)