Why Azerbaijan wants to fight with France

Interview For months now, the president of this small country in the South Caucasus, Ilham Aliyev, has openly attacked Paris, violently criticizing France's policy in its overseas territories. The COP29 which is being held in Baku was the opportunity for new full-blown attacks. Return with Pierre D'Herbès, expert in Economic Intelligence, on a diplomatic crisis with multiple ramifications

Already last spring, during the crisis in New Caledonia, Gérald Darmanin, then Minister of the Interior, strongly denounced Azerbaijan's interference in the riots which had bloodied Grande Terre. Baku vigorously denied it, but without convincing. In Martinique, the recent “movement against the high cost of living”, strongly tinged with pro-independence overtones, which set the island on fire, has once again fueled all suspicions. On the sidelines of COP29, which is currently ending in Baku – and to which no French leader has attended – President Ilham Aliyev has increased attacks against “the Macron regime”denouncing the « crimes » law enforcement officers during the Caledonian riots. This led to Azerbaijan's ambassador to Paris being summoned to the Quai d'Orsay on Tuesday. For “New Obs”, Pierre D'Herbès, expert in Economic Intelligence, looks back on a major geopolitical crisis with unexpected ramifications.

The COP which ends in Baku was the scene of a diplomatic crisis with Azerbaijan, after the declarations of President Aliyev accusing France of “crimes” – which earned the country's ambassador to be summoned to the Quai d'Orsay. How can we explain these tensions?

Pierre D'Herbès Paris is finally toughening its tone, but it is the least after such a serious verbal attack, which took place during a multilateral event, without any connection…