Accused of corruption in his own country and repressions elsewhere in the world, President Macron is trying to reignite war in the Caucasus

Until 2020, there were no tensions or coldness in Azerbaijan-France relations. All the presidents of the fifth republic, from Mitterrand to Hollande, treated Azerbaijan with respect. However, for more than three years now, the relations between the two states have almost reached the level of hostility. And this is due entirely to the flawed policy of Paris under Macron, which is detached from normal political thinking and contradicts the principles of equitable partnership.

France’s insidious face was revealedin the person of Macron

France is engaged in renewed provocations, insidious smear campaigns and shallow state-level attempts at creating a split against Azerbaijan almost on a daily basis. It usually carries out these actions through the media. For example, an article entitled “A dictator who wants to destabilize France”was recently published in the French magazine “Le Point”. All sentences of this article, which is part of yet another anti-Azerbaijani attack ordered by the Elysee Palace, represent a distortion of facts. In particular, the article, full of libel and slander, portrays Azerbaijan as the main cause of the tensions between the two countries. The article also attempts to attack Azerbaijan, the country’s leadership, as well as the reputation of the Non-Aligned Movement. It claims that Azerbaijan allegedly interferes in the internal affairs of France and conducts a smear campaign against France hosting the summer Olympic Games. It is stressedthat participants in the events organized by the Baku Initiative Group are separatists and that the media publishing objective articles about Azerbaijan are “puppets”.

We can begin by saying that it is clear from the mentioned article which media outlet is actually a puppet. “Le Point” and other similar publicationsfed by instructions from the Elysee Palace have become a tool in the insidious campaign against Azerbaijan ordered by French political circles. It is also evident that, just like the French political establishment, the media of this country are unable to come to terms with Azerbaijan’s Shusha and Khankendi victories and the elimination of the separatist regime.

In general, the Armenian factor has historically been quite strong in French society. The prevalence of pro-Armenian positions in the political circles of this country is nothing new. French authorities have always stood by Armenia in support of its policy of aggression. The only difference is that during the process of negotiations, France did not take such insidiously patronizing and provocative steps as obviously as it does now.

However, as developments in the Patriotic War of 2020 entered the crucial stage, the infamous face of France was revealed in the person of President Macron.

We will talk about this in more detail, but first let's note that after Macron was elected president, France began to behave not as a country with great statecraft traditions at the global level, but ratherlike pirates of the Middle Ages or, to put it figuratively, like the hot-tempered musketeers of A. Dumas.

Not only international political experts but also France’s own analysts are convinced that after Macron's ascent to power France departed from the traditions of statehood that had been formed over decades andabandoned its image of a moderate and influential state that establishes normal partnerships with everyone and ensures its hegemony with justice.

US intelligence's “Elysee Operation”

But whydid such drastic changes suddenly occur in French public policy? We believe that we can find an answer to our question if we pay attention to the course of the 2017 presidential election in France.

It is well known that Macron was not a recognizable figure in French political circles until the start of the presidential election campaign. Butall of a sudden, it was as if some invisible hand started a “cleaning” operation during the presidential election in France. Leaders of influential political parties were sidelinedfrom the campaign by means of blackmail and criminal cases opened against them. An event unprecedented in the entire history of the fifth republic occurred at the time: François Hollande, the previous president of the country, suddenly announced that he would not run for a second term although he could.

In addition, the 2017 election was the first in the history of the fifth republic when republican and socialistcandidates did not make it to the second round.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former president of the International Monetary Fund who was tipped as the runaway candidateat the time, was one of those closed out of the election. He had been accused of sexual harassment and rape. Although no substantial evidence was provided, Dominique Strauss-Kahn was removed from the election through blackmail and pressure.

This opened all roads ahead of Macron, whom no one knew. As “Azerbaijan” newspaper, we cannot say for sure what that invisible hand was, but the French public and political experts are unanimous on this issue: the secret hand that gave the “green light” to Macron's ascent to power in France was US intelligence. In other words, Macron's election as president took place on the basis of a scenario prepared by US intelligence, or as a result of “ElyseeOperation”.

French media: “Corruption in Macron's administration did not exist even in the royal palace”

As mentioned above, Macron was not a well-known figure of the apolitical French public. Although he was brought to presidency because his real opposition had been “neutralized”, his current ratingsare significantly lower because none of the populist promises he made and reforms announced have come true. Macron is the most loathed politician of the French people now.

The unknown Macron also differed from all preceding French presidents for his personal characteristics and biography.

Although some try to explain his marriage to a woman 25 years older than him with the standard phrase “love knows no age”, the marriage with the mother of his classmate, a theater teacher, is not universally welcome even in French society. The French are tolerant to personal freedoms, of course, but the moral values of gerontophiliac (great age difference between husband and wife) Macron, the family institution he often refers to, his lifestyle and personal orientationshave been quite astonishing even for the freedom-oriented French society. Because his secret meetings with Brigitte Auziere, the mother of the couple’s three children, completely contradict all moral codes existing in the world.

We recall that at Macron's insistence, Brigitte Auziere separated from her husband, banker Andre-Louis Auziere in 2006. In 2007, 54-year-old Brigitte Auziere married 30-year-old Macron. According to psychologists, Macron has a psychologicalpathology or trauma. Because a man's desire to marry a woman 25 years older than himself is not understandable even from the standpoint of love. It is likely that Macron suffered some trauma in his youth, which later turned into a pathology.

According to political scientists and experts who have evaluated this situation, such a person can hold a certain position in France. Just as Macron was able to rise to the position of Minister of Economy, Industry and Digital Affairs, but someone morally corrupt does not deserve to be president.

The leadership of a person with such an eroded morality has led France to the degradation of state values and foreign policy. It is no coincidence that during Macron's presidency, France was ignominiously expelled from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. There are currently high tensions between France and the Islamic world.

The special relationship all of Macron's predecessors had with Morocco is no longer there. In Algeria, private schools have been banned from conducting teaching in French. France is widely believed to be an unreliable partner among members of the European Union. Even Ukraine can nottrust France in its war with Russia.

Macron did not attend the annual UN General Assembly session in September in 2023. Doesn’t the head of a state that is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, a leading member of the European Union and a member of NATO have anything to say? Before that, in the summer of 2023, the French president faced a problem when trying to get an invitation to the BRICS summit in Johannesburg. The leadership of the Republic of South Africa considered his invitation request “very funny”.

All this is an indication of the fiasco of the French foreign policy, as well as a confirmation that Macron is not perceived as a figure to reckon with at the global level.

As for the domestic situation of France, the protests of the “yellow vests” and farmers' actions are evidence of the failuresin the domestic policy. The country’s economic and industrial cloutis gradually dwindling and the state debt has reached astronomical levels.

To cut the long story short, Macron's foreign and domestic policies constantly show instability, consistent errors and contradictions. In general, he can be consideredas the most unsuccessful leader of France.

France is now known in the world as a country where corruption is pervasive at state level and where dirty money is being laundered. There are hundreds of facts of bribery, tax evasion, illegal patronage and other similar acts of the president, his entourage, members of parliament, municipal leaders and representatives of the ruling party.

Macron's administration consistently puts pressure on law enforcement agencies and courts so that these criminal acts are not even recorded, not to mention their not being investigated. The statement of the French media that “corruption in the Macron administration did not exist even in the royal palace” fully exposes the criminal nature of the French government.

Wiping the nose of Macron and French political circles

As we mentioned earlier, after Macron's had come to power, France moved away from the values of civilized statehood it hadcreated over the past decades and even returned to the thinking of the Middle Ages. This is also evident in the fact that France started to carry out its colonial policy in Africa, Asia and Oceania in a more reactionary form in recent years although France continued to have a say in these regions. But Macron, without any explanation, took the path of creating military and political conflicts and internal strife in various regions.

Thus, precisely after the start of Macron's presidency, France's colonialist practices reverted to the medieval style, as the French state began to repeat the policy of expansion it had historically pursued in those territories but in a more brutal fashion.

In the countries where such confrontations took place, there were no developments that would have been aimed against the interests of France. Even French experts did not conceal their surprise as to why France artificially aggravated the situation in those countries. This was a rhetorical question because the French knew very well that the artificial conflicts that took place in the said regions were ordered by the global network that brought Macron to power – theUnited States.

Let's return to Macron's strained relations with Azerbaijan. France's attitude towards Azerbaijan changed as soon as Macronwas electedpresident. The reactionary principles incompatible with civilized political relations were manifested in Macron's policy in relation to the Caucasus. As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, pro-Armenian positions have always prevailed in France, but this did not prevent the previous presidents of France from maintaining friendly relations with Azerbaijan. France never openly opposed Azerbaijan, and support for Armenians was expressed only in words. Whenever there was support for Armenia, the French officials did not explicitly talk about it.

But during Macron's time in power, France became a direct participant in the military-political conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. This became evident during the 44-day war, as France acted as a state that unequivocally supported Armenia’s policy of occupation both during and after the war.

After 2020, France, unable to come to terms with Azerbaijan's victory in the Patriotic War, repeatedly tried to have various documents adopted against our country within the framework of international organizations, especially the UN Security Council. Azerbaijan managed to resolutely prevent this thanks to its successful foreign policy and friends.

Let's pay attention to the chronological sequence of France's open hostility towards Azerbaijan. First, during the days of war, Macron repeatedly called President IlhamAliyev, sometimes demanding that Azerbaijan stop military operations, sometimes accusing Azerbaijan of targeting civilian Armenians in Karabakh, and sometimes saying that foreign mercenaries were “fighting” in the ranks of the Azerbaijani army. However, Macron understood from the very first demand that it was impossible to threaten or turn Azerbaijan off its path. His accusations were never corroborated. All this was Macron's first defeat against Azerbaijan.

In October 2020, France attempted another ugly campaign of pressure against Azerbaijan at the level of the UN Security Council. At that time, after a closed-door session of the SC, a draft statement was prepared by Minsk Group co-chair countries and distributed among member countries for approval. However, the draft did not mention a word about the resolutions the SC had adopted in 1993, which demanded the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. The states that are members of the Non-Aligned Movementrepresented on the SC insisted that such a reference should be included in the statement. After that, the co-chair countries that had authored the document were forced to withdraw it.

By this Azerbaijan actually defeated France “on its home court”. In November 2020, the adoption of a resolution in the French Parliament with a call for the recognition of the separatist regime in Nagorno-Karabakh was, in fact, an indicator of Paris's defeat to Azerbaijan. They knew perfectly well themselves that this resolution was nothing more than a piece of paper.

In December 2022, when Azerbaijan's eco-activists staged an action on the road to Lachin, Macron's France turned to the UN yet again, accusing Azerbaijan of keeping Armenians in Karabakh in blockade, but it suffered another political and diplomatic defeat.

France failed in the European Union and the UN. Allof its initiatives against our country were never supported. Countless phone calls to Macron's counterparts in the West have been unsuccessful. In January this year, the French senate adopted a ridiculous resolution regarding the government's imposition of sanctions against Azerbaijan. The French political circles led by Macron, who lost his life instincts back in his youth, probably does not understand that this is a meaningless document. Because if they had understood this, they would not have brought their statehoodto such a disgraceful state.

If we add to all this Emmanuel Macron's groundless claims against Azerbaijan made during a press conference at the Granada meeting of the European Political Community in October 2023, French Europe and Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna's absurd allegations against our country in the Senate, and the fact that France sent its emissaries to the border with Azerbaijan under the guise of observers, we will see that Azerbaijan actually defeated France on all platforms over the past three years.

Yet another defeat inflicted on Macron's France was Azerbaijan’s exposure of the French intelligence network, which operates in a wide geographical area stretching from Eastern Europe to Central Asia. The professionalism and vigilance of the Azerbaijani side angered Emmanuel Macron and led to the dismissal and replacement of heads of the French foreign intelligence agencies. This was another defeat for Macron. In response to the expulsion of two French diplomats from Azerbaijan due to the exposed French intelligence network, two Azerbaijanidiplomats were declaredpersonas non grata by Paris, which was an indication of not only France's defeat, but also its weakness.

Such has been the hypocritical trajectory of Macron's government over the past three years. Moreover, he shamelessly sought to participate in normalization talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan as a party pursuing the interests of Armenia. However, IlhamAliyev personally removed Macron from negotiationsonce and for all.

France is constantly trying to poke its nose into the processes in the Caucasus through Armenia, but each time the noses of French political circles, including that of Macron, are wiped. The restoration of Azerbaijan's sovereignty in Karabakh and the handcuffing of separatists financed directly from France was a slap on the face of Macron and French policies in general. Azerbaijan erased from history the separatist regime, which called on the French government to recognize its independence.

In fact, the policiesbeing implemented by France cannot be unequivocally described as pro-Armenian. Armenians capable of assessing the situation more soberly also believe that France's policy does not reflect Armenia's interests. After all, this policy serves to prevent Armenia’s economic development, make it a deadlock state, and stop the normalization of relations with Azerbaijan.

France's pro-Armenian policy actually leads Armenia to destruction and promises it even greater defeats, misery and isolation in the future. This policy puts Armenia in a situation of conflict in the region not only with Azerbaijan, but also with Iran, Russia and even Georgia. In this sense, there is no doubt that France's actions will eventually turn Armenia into the Lebanon of the region. In the end, Paris’s insidious policies will bring Armenia to the state of Lebanon, which simply drowns in political-military tensions.

Azerbaijan is creating an international platform against France's colonial policy

Azerbaijan does not destroy only France's pro-Armenian policy and hypocrisy towards itself. Azerbaijan also exposes the colonial policy of France and supports the freedom struggles in the territories France still controls in different parts of the world. It is commonly known that France has committed genocidal crimes against millions of people in Africa, Asia, America and Oceania for centuries, depriving people of their freedom and destroying their statehood.

The results of French colonial policy are truly astonishing. For example, in the 132-year-long occupation of Algeria, more than 1.5 million people were killed by the French state, which is why Algeria is described as “a country of 1.5 million martyrs”. A total 18,000 skulls of soldiers killed in colonial wars in the 19^thcentury are stored and displayed in the Museum of Man in Paris. Among those “exhibits” are the skulls of Algerian warriors. Algeria's request to return those bones has yet to be fulfilled by France. In the 21^stcentury, one can find such despicable conduct only in a handful of countries of the world.

The scale and geography of the massacres perpetrated by the French army is so vast that it is difficult to enumerate them all. Morocco, Tunisia, Mali, Djibouti, Nigeria, Chad, Senegal, Vietnam, the Comoros, Haiti and other countries are still living through the consequences of their occupation.

Although centuries have passed, new shameful methods of French colonialism are still continuing because the mindset has not changed. Unable to abandon the dark history of colonialism, France does not respect the freedom dreams and rights of the peoples living outside Europe, in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and works hard to prevent the realization of these dreams. For example, Guadeloupe has been under French rule for four centuries. Those in the country attempting to struggle for independence are killed and subjected to persecution.

The natural resources of Martinique, a French colony, are plundered and its population is enslaved.

As a result of the colonial policy of France, French Guiana has been made financially and economically dependent, gold mines have been looted, while gold has been extracted and transported to France.

Those who venture to dream of independence on the island of Corsica are either arrested or killed by France. Repression has become commonplace for the Corsican people. Although France has been giving them false promises for years, only those appointed by France come to power in Corsica.

It is a pity that the global community has ignored the colonial policy of France throughout history. However, Azerbaijan's resolute actions in this direction do not just expose France's colonial crimes, Baku also chastises France's colonialist policy.

“Azerbaijan is very concerned about the continuation of colonialism in the 21^stcentury and the growing new manifestations of colonialism. Despite the passage of nearly 70 years since the Bandung Conference, there are still countries pursuing colonialist policies. One and the first of such countries is France. In general, most of the bloody crimes in the history of colonialism were committed by France. France, which occupied dozens of countries in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Ocean and Latin America, has plundered their natural wealth and enslaved their people for decades, committed numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity in those territories. The French armed forces have subjected hundreds of thousands of civilians to genocide because of their ethnic and religious affiliation.” These views were expressed in the letter of President IlhamAliyev to the participants of the international conference on “Neocolonialism: Violation of Human Rights and Injustice” held in Baku on October 20, 2023. Most importantly, the letter was released as an official UN document. As can be seen, Azerbaijan is using from all international platformsto expose the criminal acts Francehas been committing for centuries and continues to commit to this day. France wants to create tensions in the South Caucasus by arming Armenia and obstructing the peace process. There is hardly any country in history has dealt such blows to France’s colonial policy.

Azerbaijan isolates and rejects both Macron and France from the processes in the Caucasus

In general, France's actions are already causing disgust in other countries of the region. Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also said that the goal of the West and France is to turn the South Caucasus into another arena of conflict. “They ignore the interests of the countries of the region and do nothing to ensure security, stability and prosperity in the region. I think that Baku and some other countries are already fed up with such conduct on the part of Paris, which is trying to restore its collapsed political authority in the South Caucasus.”

All of France's attempts to infiltrate the South Caucasus, put pressure on Azerbaijan, etc. have failed. However, it is a fact that by arming Armenia, France worked flat out to create a basis for war in the South Caucasus. However, the arms exports to Armenia is dealing a blow to the peace process. The aim of Paris is to establish a military presence on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border,instigate new clashes and even achieve a resumption of hostilities. This policy of France increases the risk of military tensions in the South Caucasus, prompts Armenia, which has found new “supporter” in the military field, to put forward non-constructive demands in the peace negotiations and prolong the process.

The fact that one of the generals of the French National Gendarmerie Department recently approached the border with Azerbaijan from the territory of Armenia and observed it with binoculars strengthens the possibility that France intends to commit military provocation against Azerbaijan. The French general's approach to our borders, following the shipment of arms, certainly indicates France's insidious intentions. Paris is trying to re-ignite the historical conflict by artificial means and, as a result, drag Armenia into even more severe defeats. A new war will inevitably lead to the complete collapse of Armenia.

It goes without saying that a military operation supported by France will only take a toll on Armenia. “Armenia should also understand that no matter how many weapons it may buy and how much support it may receive, if there is a source of danger for us, we will immediately crush that source of danger. I am not hiding this so that no one can say tomorrow that they didn’t see that coming,” President IlhamAliyev said.

President IlhamAliyev declared Azerbaijan's attitude towards France in several speeches. Obviously, IlhamAliyev does not view Macron as an impartial president. Azerbaijan does not recognize France as a participant or partner state in the process of normalization with Armenia. Azerbaijan isolates and rejects both Macron and France from the processes in the Caucasus.

In turn, Macron has undermined the authority of France in the world. Macron has created such global problems for France that Paris will need decades to solve them in the future. There are countless ticking bombs Macron has planted inside France. France is also the second most hated country in the world today – next only to the United States. What else would one expect from a country led by a person with psychological pathology?

To understand that Macron has psychological problems, it is enough to look at his appointments to fateful positions of the country. Instead of French women known throughout history for their charm and beauty, he has appointedIslamophobic“males” who hate women as prime minister and foreign minister.

Azerbaijan will continue exposing France

After Azerbaijan’s brilliant victories over France, the foreign policy/diplomacy department of the French presidential administration was in a state of hysteria, resorting to such hypocritical articles in an effort to get out of the “lamentable defeat”. According to E. Macron, Armenia’s occupation should have continued. Armenian occupation was successfully supported by E. Macron's predecessors, but the fact that it ended during E. Macron's rule is seen as his personal defeat. He can'tcome to terms with the idea that he has been defeated, not just Armenia.

Emmanuel Macron's personality traits also play a special role in France's policy of hostility towards Azerbaijan. Macronhas earned himself the image of a henpecked gerontophiliac, i.e. someone afraid of his wife. He can barely control his envy, which has turned into hatred towards victorious President IlhamAliyev. Just like envious children, he tries to do “mischiefs”against a strong, powerful and victorious political leader, President IlhamAliyev, who has won the support of his nation.

Azerbaijan will continue exposing France. Azerbaijan will continue to show the true colors of the French government to the world and support the struggle of the occupied overseas territoriesfor independence. The flag of France can flyin the Caucasusonly in the embassies of this country. Today,the flag of Azerbaijan flies in New Caledonia and French Polynesia. It is no coincidence that the people of the countries under the colonial rule of France now look at Azerbaijan as a holy temple.

This is a victory of IlhamAliyev and Azerbaijan over France, Macron and the entire pro-Armenian gang...

Editorial team of “AZERBAIJAN” newspaper