France's Ambassador to Belarus Nicolas de Lacoste left Minsk after Belarusian authorities ordered his exit on Sunday, reports Deutsche Welle.
Lacoste had avoided presenting his credentials to President Aleksander Lukashenko, 67, and instead presented them to the regime's foreign minister, Vladimir Makei, an act Lukashenko viewed as a snub.
The French embassy in Minsk also indicated on its website that Lacoste had met last Wednesday with representatives of the banned NGO Govorii Pravdu (Tell The Truth), including the group's co-chair, Andrey Dmitriev, who had been a presidential candidate in last year's contested election.
"He said goodbye to the staff of the embassy and recorded a video message to the Belarusian people, which will appear tomorrow morning on the embassy's website," the French embassy's spokesperson told AFP.
Belarusian media reported that Minsk has also recalled its ambassador to Paris, Igor Fesenko.