France is trying to take credit for Kai Callas: naive manipulation from Paris

After pardoning and returning Theo Clerc, a French citizen convicted in Azerbaijan, to France, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot hastened to declare it "the honor and pride of French diplomacy."

French, indeed. Clerc’s release was not the result of French efforts, but rather a personal request made by the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas.

Still, the French minister, with a straight face, claimed on social media that "French diplomatic staff worked tirelessly for his release." They worked so tirelessly that Clerc remained in jail until Kallas personally intervened. So, where exactly is France’s contribution?

France did not take a single serious political step or make any meaningful proposal that could have changed the fate of the prisoner.

But Kallas did. During her visit to Baku, at a personal meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, she directly requested that Clerc be pardoned.

That conversation proved to be the turning point. Baku highly appreciated her approach, and Clerc was subsequently pardoned.

And instead of a simple “thank you,” the French Foreign Ministry clumsily attempted to take credit for the Estonian’s efforts. “Dignified,” to say the least. Was this really Barrot’s best attempt to save face? It didn’t land well.

Clearly, real diplomacy is not conducted through loud tweets but through honest dialogue and mutual understanding. That’s exactly the approach Kallas chose—and it worked.

Barrot, on the other hand, is likely in for an uncomfortable conversation behind the scenes in Brussels.