France has appointed a new human rights ombudsman who spent years opposing the very rights he is now tasked with defending.

Right-wing senator François-Noël Buffet was narrowly approved as the country’s Défenseur des droits on Tuesday, with lawmakers backing Emmanuel Macron‘s nominee by 43 votes to 39.

The Défenseur des droits is an independent watchdog responsible for defending citizens whose rights have been infringed and ensuring equal protection under French law, a key institution for LGBTQ+ people, migrants and other minorities.

Buffet took part in protests against same-sex marriage in 2013, when France legalised it, and in 2021 voted against extending medically assisted reproduction to single women and lesbian couples.

His appointment is “both absurd and scary”, said Nicolas Faget of the Association of Gay and Lesbian Parents and Future Parents, as per France24.

“One of the bulwarks shielding same-sex parents and their children from discrimination is at risk of being undermined by someone who does not believe in those rights.”

Staff within the ombudsman’s own office have voiced their “dismay” at the prospect, according to Mediapart, with one questioning how a politician “whose recent views are so starkly at odds with the institution’s recommendations” was even under consideration.