BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 16. The French web TV channel Blast recently aired an anti-Azerbaijani report. This is not the first time such content has appeared. In fact, anti-Azerbaijani and pro-Armenian narratives have become increasingly common in French media.
In response, the French online outlet La Gazette du Caucase published an article refuting the baseless claims made by Blast. The article highlights that instead of presenting factual evidence, Blast simply recycles well-worn Armenian propaganda against Azerbaijan.
"The journalist cannot help but echo the old refrains spread by the nationalist Armenian press. For example, the airing of a video criticizing the organization of the Paris Olympics. Blast does not claim that the video was made by Baku but that it was shared by Azerbaijan. The mere juxtaposition of this video with a discussion of alleged Azerbaijani interference in France is enough to suggest that Azerbaijan is the author," the article reads.
Blast cannot help but adopt the inimitable legend of "caviar diplomacy", the authors noted, "a term that elicits smiles when you know that Armenians have a monopoly on caviar imports in France!"
La Gazette explains that in the French context, the term "caviar diplomacy" is simply a way of saying that whatever Azerbaijan does, it is always viewed as wrong.
"Pointed out, indeed, are the aids to the restoration of French churches, the "all-expenses-paid" invitations to elected officials to conferences or sports competitions. As if Armenia, during the 2020 war, had not brought all the leading French politicians to Yerevan, from Zemmour to Hidalgo, including Valérie Pécresse, who did not hesitate to be photographed in front of a tomb of an Armenian "hero" marked with a swastika," the authors added.
"Everything changed when Baku decided to put an end to Armenian occupation. Until then, for almost 30 years, Azerbaijani authorities had tried to negotiate with the Armenian side. After years of refusal, failed Minsk Group arbitration, and the plundering of Karabakh's resources by unscrupulous businessmen, Azerbaijanis decided to solve the problem themselves Immediately, the powerful French Armenian diaspora used all its influence and financial resources to get the French government to support the Armenian separatists, disregarding the UN resolutions and even the will of the Armenian government, which the diaspora nationalists are quick to criticize for abandoning the idea of a "Greater Armenia"," the article reads further.
The article further disputes the real impact of the Armenian diaspora on France's political climate. "As Armenians themselves admit, the Armenian community is a myth. There is no Armenian vote. They vote exactly like the rest of the population. The myth of a unified diaspora that must not be alienated for fear of losing elections was invented by the powerful lobbyists of the Armenian nationalist Dashnak party and influencers who have literally infiltrated the French media sphere".