After Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake pushed back a visit to France slated for July 2026, rumours circulated online that the French government had rejected his request for a visa. The French Embassy in Colombo and the Sri Lankan government have both dismissed the assertion, and said they are working on a new date for the visit. Heads of state are exempted from visa requirements for official trips, a former diplomat told AFP.
"The French government rejects Anura's visa application," reads Sinhala-language text overlaid on an image shared in a Facebook post on July 10.
It shows Dissanayake alongside the French flag, with a caption that reads: "Don't come to France. Will not give a visa. Your government is an oppressive government. The French government rejects Anura's visa request."
Dissanayake delayed his visit to France originally slated for July -- a month after French President Emmanuel Macron invited him on the sidelines of an AI summit in India ( archived link).
He was expected to secure France's support to extend Sri Lanka's status in the European Union's tariff exemption regime, while both countries had planned to tackle areas of cooperation in the economic, finance and defence sectors (archived here and here).
Dissanayake is also keen to bring French investors to Sri Lanka, France's ambassador to the country, Remi Lambert, said during a meeting with a cabinet minister on June 25 (archived here, here and here).
Similar claims have spread elsewhere on...
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