Paris vs. Baku: Macron's imperial ambitions in the South Caucasus Yerevan as a pawn in France’s games

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Armenia, Olivier Decottignies, has once again expressed support for Yerevan, which has been eagerly embraced by Armenian media. Given Paris's consistent pro-Armenian stance, it’s easy to guess that this is yet another provocation aimed at Azerbaijan, something that Baku has long become accustomed to.

This time, Decottignies published a statement on social media, once again using familiar rhetoric directed against Azerbaijan. The occasion for his statement was the second seminar "Convergences for Armenia," held in Lyon. In his message, the French diplomat noted: "The state, local authorities, civil society, and diaspora organizations in support of Armenia and refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh."

It’s no surprise that another PR campaign in support of Armenians who voluntarily left the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan took place in Lyon, especially given the statements made by the city's mayor, Grégory Doucet. In April 2023, during a meeting with Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan in Yerevan, Doucet promised to do everything possible to support Armenia. "I assure you that within my means, I will do everything to assist Armenia," Doucet said at the time.

Thus, organizing such events fits within the logic of "French-Armenian solidarity," which is actively supported by the French authorities.

As for Decottignies' post, it is primarily aimed at drawing the international community's attention to the fabricated issue of "refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh." This topic is regularly pushed by French media and on various international platforms.

In early February, Decottignies had already expressed his views on this matter on his microblog on X, stating that "local government authorities in France express solidarity with Armenian refugees displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh and with Armenia, which has provided them with refuge." "We express our gratitude to the Governor of Armavir, Argishti Mekhakyan, and his staff for their discussions with the delegation of local government officials from France, united by the efforts of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and UNDP, on issues related to the situation of 10,000 refugees placed in this area," Decottignies wrote at the time.

During the same period, a delegation was in Armenia, led by the coordinator for Armenian-French cooperation at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Florence Provendier, who had arrived in Yerevan specifically to discuss the "Support for Refugees and Host Communities in the Ararat and Armavir Regions" program.

Long before this, in December 2023, Macron's France announced an additional aid of 15 million euros, supposedly "to assist in solving the urgent problems of refugees." At that time, the total financial assistance allocated by France to the Karabakh Armenians already exceeded 27.5 million euros. Later, in September 2024, the then-French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Séjourné, at a joint press conference with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan in Yerevan, publicly stated that Paris would allocate 29 million euros to support "refugees from Artsakh." In February of the same year, Armenia indeed received this amount from France as part of the so-called "humanitarian aid."

Clearly, this "gesture of goodwill" from Macron's France is yet another political move aimed at drawing international attention to the issue of "Armenian refugees" from Karabakh. Despite numerous video materials and reports from foreign media confirming the voluntary relocation of the Armenian population from the region, France continues to present a different narrative to the world.

In fact, by interfering in Azerbaijan's internal affairs, French officials are blatantly violating international law, and this fact should not go unnoticed by the global community. Moreover, France, openly supporting revanchist ambitions in Armenia, continues to supply Yerevan with deadly types of weaponry, encouraging the Armenian leadership towards a new military adventure. The international community should not ignore this dangerous trend.

It is noteworthy that French Ambassador Olivier Decottignies, in an interview with Public Radio of Armenia in February of this year, openly called on other countries to militarize Armenia. "France is the only Western country supplying Armenia with defense equipment, but we hope others will follow our example," he stated.

However, it is clear that Decottignies' statements reflect not personal sympathy towards Armenia, but the official stance of France, which, after the failure of its policies in Africa, is eager to make the South Caucasus a new arena for geopolitical confrontation.

As early as December 2023, an article published on the EU Reporter website noted that by supplying weapons to the Middle East, South Caucasus, and Central Asia, France is contributing to the destabilization of these regions. This is linked to the fact that France is losing its influence in North and West Africa.

Indeed, the world has watched as France has lost its positions across the African continent one by one. After withdrawing French troops from Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, Paris began to reduce its military presence in Senegal and Chad, leaving forces only in Djibouti and Gabon.

It’s no surprise that under Macron, France seeks to extend its imperial ambitions to the South Caucasus. However, each time it faces Baku’s firm stance, Paris receives a fitting response. The real question is whether Armenia understands its role in these geopolitical games. By yielding to France’s manipulations, it risks becoming nothing more than a pawn in the advancement of foreign interests in the region.

The choice, to put it mildly, is not a favorable one…