At the end of April, while tensions were rising in New Caledonia over a change in electoral law, Gérald Darmanin was already denouncing Azerbaijan's “harmful interference” in the archipelago. The then Minister of the Interior denounced the signing of a “memorandum”, a text without legal value, between an elected Caledonian separatist and the president of the parliament of this country neighboring Russia and Iran.
Seven months later, while tensions are still at their highest between the French and Azerbaijani authorities, Viginum, the French state service responsible for detecting foreign digital interference, points out in a report published this Monday the attempts of this state to “exploit the political and economic situation” in the French overseas departments and territories, as well as in Corsica.
“Instrumentalize independence ideas”
Viginum, which depends on the services of the Presidency of the Republic and the Prime Minister, points to content “with an editorial line resolutely hostile to France” broadcast on X by a coordinated set of accounts as well as by the Baku Initiative Group (BIG) , a group created in 2023 and named after the Azerbaijani capital.
Concretely, the digital campaign wanted to “instrumentalize independence movements and ideas”, with the objective of “trying (without success) to call into question the territorial integrity of France in its overseas territories”. These efforts were coordinated and the publications artificially amplified to give them visibility on social networks.
In New Caledonia, a diverted photo
During the riots in May in New Caledonia, the instability of the situation was exploited by this network of accounts: a viral photo showing a group of men, including one armed, aiming at a target from outside a supermarket, was hijacked. This was notably reused on X and on Facebook to accuse the police of being “murderers” and of targeting independence demonstrators. More than 5,000 messages were published in two days, May 15 and 16, all copying the same content. 348 of the accounts that participated in this maneuver belonged to the set of coordinated accounts identified by Viginum.
Attempts at interference in Martinique
This digital activity continued in October in another overseas territory, Martinique, while some of the inhabitants demonstrated against the high cost of living. At least 11 videos “instrumentalizing the intervention” of a CRS company were identified by Viginum between the 8th and 11th. The distribution of this content was accompanied by hashtags in English such as “#independence” or “#colonialism”.
In parallel with these publications, Viginum highlights the activism of the BIG, both in the organization of congresses and online, via its accounts on social networks. In July 2023, at the time of its creation, the BIG had thus “brought together different movements, for some independence activists”, notes Viginum. Representatives of movements from New Caledonia, Corsica, Martinique, Guyana, French Polynesia and Guadeloupe were present. Since then, the BIG has organized other congresses. In February, it was the former president of the Corsican Assembly, Jean-Guy Talamoni, who participated in a conference initiated by the BIG in Turkey whose subject was “decolonization”. Mickaël Forrest, Caledonian minister whose portfolio includes the territory's external relations, and Maurea Maamaatuaiahutapu, representative of the Assembly of French Polynesia, were also present.
“A state pharmacy”
Although the BIG presents itself as an NGO fighting against colonialism, Viginum explains that the organization has direct links with Azerbaijan, being registered for tax purposes in the country. Viginum also draws on a phrase from the country's president, Ilham Aliyev, who declared in January that the BIG is “our child.” Viginum concludes that the BIG “is a state agency”.
The publication of the investigation called “UN-notorious BIG” comes at a time when relations between Paris and Baku are still degraded: France did not send its Minister of Ecological Transition to COP29 which has just ended in the Azerbaijani capital, while Ilham Aliyev himself attacked the management of the riots in New Caledonia. One of the causes of its tensions is France's support for Armenia, a neighboring country and enemy of Azerbaijan. The two countries are torn apart in particular over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, now controlled by Baku after a lightning offensive in September 2023.
