After the anti-colonial forums in Baku, the French authorities did not want the Azerbaijani media to cover the protest rallies against French colonialism in New Caledonia. Now the French authorities take the next step—only to fall flat on their face.
Azerbaijani journalists… have been denounced as spies. French counter-intelligence proudly reports: two women, whose names are not mentioned, who intended to cover as journalists French Minister Lecornu’s tour of the Asia-Pacific region, were found to have “links with intelligence services”. There is, of course, zero evidence, but on this shaky basis, the French authorities obstructed the Azerbaijani journalists’ professional activities.
We will deliberately refrain from drawing parallels with the actions of the authorities of the USSR, Iran and other dictatorial regimes, where any journalist that dares publish disadvantageous truths can be declared a spy. The important thing is that this kind of hysterics is always a sign of weakness.
The truth is that when France launched a campaign to support Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan, they were sure that Baku would get scared, immediately “back off” and, in general, try not to anger the big guys from Paris.
But in reality, Azerbaijan strikes back, and in a very sensitive area for France: anticolonialism, right where Paris’s positions are quickly crumbling. And if now France is getting hysterical, banging bald heads on the parquet floor and trying to take out their frustration on Azerbaijani journalists, it is a sure sign that Paris is the one losing. More precisely, it is a demonstration of the weakness of France’s position.
France today feels insulted and humiliated by Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan’s counter moves to support the anticolonial struggle of the peoples of the “French overseas territories” have proved to be very palpable for Paris. Painful, too.
But the real humiliation for Paris was in the Karabakh issue. Here is a little reminder: in the early days of the 44-day war, the current master of the Élysée Palace said firmly that he would “not allow” Azerbaijan to “conquer” Karabakh. What happened next? The Azerbaijani flag in Shusha and Hadrut. Then, in September 2023, a new series of tantrums: Macron “condemned” Azerbaijani anti-terrorist raids in Karabakh and demanded an immediate halt to the offensive. What happened next? The fall of the junta, the hasty flight of its scraps, and the Azerbaijani flag in Khankendi. The Élysée Palace has forgotten the old rules: one can threaten and make grand statements if one is sure that they will have an effect. And new attempts of Paris to support Armenia and give it “vintage weapons” resulted in France’s removal from the list of mediators. Baku is not afraid to respond. Macron greatly overestimated his importance and influence. And history has already sorted out who had stronger positions and political will, Macron or Aliyev.
Now that he is losing to Azerbaijan both in Karabakh and in his own colonial garden, Macron has no choice but to smash plates, take offense and lash out at Azerbaijani journalists caught in the crosshairs. Demonstrating what all the statements of official Paris about democracy, human rights and freedom of speech are really worth.
