Macron in crisis as France’s breakaway territories find unexpected all | World | News
Emmanuel Macron is facing a major crisis with France’s breakaway territories finding themselves an unexpected ally.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev pledged yesterday to help France’s overseas territories secure their independence.
Aliyev is focusing on New Caledonia, a French territory in the South Pacific, which has been gripped by violence for weeks due to Indigenous groups objecting to electoral reform.
The Azerbaijani president made a statement just days before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris and days after pro-independence groups formed a congress in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
It included representatives from New Caledonia and other French territories including Corsica and Caribbean and Pacific islands.
“We will support you until you are free,” Aliyev told the forum. “Some countries are still suffering from this.
“The Comoros islands, Mayotte are still under colonial rule. It has been our duty to help these countries liberate themselves from this revolting remnant from the past.”
In May, France accused Azerbaijan of encouraging unrest in New Caledonia by flooding social media with “misleading photos and videos” targeting French police. Azerbaijan has denied the allegations.
This is the latest in a string of incidents in which Aliyev is working against France. The Azerbaijani president has also accused France of interfering in its contracts with Armenia.
The country has had two wars with Armenia in 30 years linked to disputes over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Azerbaijani authorities accuse France of bias in favour of Armenia in efforts to achieve a peace treaty to end years of conflict and in signing defence contracts with authorities in Yerevan. Azerbaijan expelled two French diplomats last December.
