Triumphants vs lame ducks France swallows bitter pill of Macronism

The end of the year is the time to sum up the political outcomes and identify the major winners and losers. There is no doubt that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev belongs to the first category, as his ingeniously conceived and implemented strategy led to the full restoration of our country's territorial integrity and sovereignty. The Karabakh region's anti-terrorist operation has become this strategy's next chapter.

Today, the Azerbaijani flag flies over all of Karabakh. This happened despite the position of the international Armenian community and the countries that tolerated the Armenian occupation policy for decades. First and foremost, we talk about France and the United States, the co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group, which has been inactive for a long time. What about the success of the presidents of these countries at the end of the year? Biden is included in the list of the biggest political losers compiled by the US television station Fox News. The TV channel's explanation for the head of state's presence on the list of losers is Biden's low ratings and the impeachment proceedings against him in Congress. Fox News noted that he has to defend the benefits he received as vice president in Barack Obama's administration, in addition to uncomfortable questions about the president's advanced age. In general, his failures can be found almost everywhere - in the Middle East and on the issue of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

I'm sure that if a French TV channel had conducted a similar poll in their country, Emmanuel Macron would have been named the biggest loser in his country. The latest data from social surveys in France logically support such a prediction. For example, 54 per cent of young people between the ages of 18 and 24 are so fed up with the government of Emmanuel Macron that they want to leave the country. This is what Le Journal du Dimanche writes, referring to the latest social survey results. According to the survey, citizens suffering from economic and political depression are despairing about the future of France. 69 per cent of the population, across all age groups, want to leave the country.

These are the consequences of Macronism. The incumbent president is regularly embroiled in scandals of varying degrees. For example, Macron has come under fire for his support of actor Gerard Depardieu, who has been accused of sexual assault and sexism. Macron's predecessor, François Hollande, was criticised for saying nothing about "women who have been assaulted and humiliated". And the popular Elle magazine published an editorial slamming the president's comments. "Emmanuel Macron, who no longer cares about re-election, has shown his true face: the face of a man who sides with predators; the face of a president who made us believe in his commitment to women, only to betray them even more," it said.

All this happened before the newspaper Le Figaro had pointed out that Macron had become a classic "lame duck" in the land of the Gallic rooster. In terms of numbers, 67 per cent of French people do not have confidence in the incumbent president's ability to solve the problems of the republic. "Emmanuel Macron is still unable to regain the confidence of the French, eighteen months after his re-election. From this point of view, the results of the opinion polls are merciless: 67 per cent of the French people do not have confidence in his ability to solve the problems of the republic! "According to Le Figaro, "Macron can count on no one except the majority in parliament that supports him (91 per cent of the members of the Renaissance party)".

In fact, Macron has been a failure almost everywhere, in France and abroad. Including in the South Caucasus. Specifically, Macron's full-throated support for Armenia and his openly anti-Azerbaijani policy. But what happened in the end? Nothing. Azerbaijan re-established its sovereignty and territorial integrity and is now dictating how we play. No grandiose project can be implemented in the South Caucasus without the approval of official Baku. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is therefore this year's main victor, while Emmanuel Macron can proudly bear the title of 2023's main loser. Both in France and in the world.