France has called for a regional or international mediation to be set up between the Venezuelan government and opposition groups to end the worsening violence in the oil producing nation.
Hundreds of thousands of people have come onto the streets across Venezuela since early April to demand elections, freedom for jailed activists, foreign aid and autonomy for the opposition-led legislature.
Yesterday, the government said it was sending 2,000 soldiers to a border state that is a hotspot of anti-government radicalism after looting that killed a 15-year-old in the latest unrest roiling the nation.
"For France, alongside its European partners, the priority is the immediate end of violence through the support of a credible regional or international mediation that has the trust of both parties - government and opposition - to help restore dialogue and stability," Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal told reporters in a daily briefing.
The French calls come after the United States warned Venezuela's crisis is worsening and could escalate into a major conflict similar to Syria or South Sudan.
At least 43 people have died during weeks of clashes between government forces and opposition demonstrators angry at President Nicolas Maduro's moves to strengthen his hold on power and his handling of an economic and political crisis.
Following a closed-door session of the UN Security Council, US Ambassador Nikki Haley told reporters that the crisis in Venezuela is deepening.
"What we are trying to say is the international community needs to say 'respect the human rights of your people' or this is going to go in the direction we've seen so many others go,"
"We've been down this road - with Syria, with North Korea, with South Sudan, with Burundi, with Burma. We've been down this road," Ms Haley said. "Why not get in front of this? Why not try to stop a problem before it starts?"
The United States requested the closed-door consultations on Venezuela despite objections from some council members who insisted the crisis was not a threat to international security.
Rejecting the US action at United Nations, Venezuela accused the US of meddling in its internal affairs.
"Venezuela will resolve its own internal problems. We will do it ourselves," Ambassador Rafael Ramirez told reporters after the meeting. "We will not accept interference."
