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The Minister of the Interior and Overseas Territories Gérald Darmanin on Thursday accused the pro-Russian country of interference in New Caledonia, while the archipelago is in the grip of unprecedented riots since 1988.
The Minister of the Interior and Overseas Territories Gérald Darmanin on Thursday accused Azerbaijan of interference in New Caledonia, while the archipelago is in the grip of unprecedented riots since 1988. As he was asked if this country, pro-Russian, as well as Russia and China were interfering in New Caledonia, the minister responded on France 2: “About Azerbaijan, it’s not a fantasy, it’s a reality”regretting “that some of the Caledonian separatists made a deal with Azerbaijan”.
“It’s indisputable and it gives an idea of what democracy is sometimes, if we listened to certain leaders”he continued. “But today, even if there are attempts at interference, no country is resorting to violence in New Caledonia”added the minister, “France is sovereign at home and that’s so much the better”.
On Wednesday, the government established a state of emergency in New Caledonia and banned the social network TikTok, widely used by rioters. This ban also comes against a backdrop of fear of interference and disinformation on social networks coming from foreign countries which would seek to fuel tensions, according to government and security sources, citing countries like China or Azerbaijan. .
Baku denounces unfounded interference
Azerbaijan denounced accusations of interference on Thursday “unfounded” issued by France regarding the riots in New Caledonia, seeing there comments “insulting”. “We completely reject the unfounded accusations of the French minister” of the Interior Gérald Darmanin, declared Azerbaijani diplomacy in a press release. “We deny any link between the leaders of the struggle for Caledonian freedom and Azerbaijan”she added, castigating “insulting statements” And “a campaign of slander” led by Paris according to her.
The controversy mounts
Controversy has been growing over Azerbaijan’s influence since the signing in April of a memorandum of cooperation between the Congress of New Caledonia and the National Assembly of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan, which criticizes Paris for its support for Armenia, had already invited the separatists from Martinique, Guyana, New Caledonia and French Polynesia to Baku in July 2023. From this conference was born the “Baku Initiative Group” which aims to support “the French liberation and anti-colonialist movements”.
In a statement published Tuesday in French by Azertac, the state news agency of Azerbaijan, the Baku Initiative Group condemned “the arrest of the Kanaks and the acts of violence by the French authorities against civilians in New Caledonia”.
MEP Raphaël Glucksmann, who chaired a European Parliament commission on foreign interference, also denounced on Public Senate “an attempt at interference” from Azerbaijan “for months already”. “It is not foreign actors who are creating the tension. In this case, it is a constitutional reform, it is an internal problem. But they seize internal problems to rub salt in the wounds and to tense up the situation.”denounced the head of the socialist list in the European elections on June 9. “Authoritarian regimes like Russia, Azerbaijan, but also China seize the slightest flaw in our societies to polarize public debate and create chaos”he stressed.