The White House on Monday conceded that the United States should have sent a higher-level representative to a Paris unity march after deadly terrorist attacks there and said President Barack Obama would have liked to attend.

The White House on Monday conceded that the United States should have sent a higher-level representative to a Paris unity march after deadly terrorist attacks there and said President Barack Obama would have liked to attend.

Some Republican lawmakers and US media outlets criticized Obama's administration for not sending a top leader to the march, which featured leaders from France, Britain, and Germany.

"I think it's fair to say that we should have sent someone with a higher profile," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters, adding Obama would have liked to have gone.

"That said, there is no doubt that the American people and this administration stand foursquare behind our allies in France as they face down this threat."

The United States was represented at the march by its ambassador to France, Jane Hartley.

U.S. administration officials cited security requirements as a central reason why neither Obama nor Vice President Joe Biden made the trip, saying their security needs can be distracting from such events.