Karabakh narrative has lost the battlefield but found Paris

France is once again becoming a stage for separatist and anarchist groups seeking to turn political grievances into public spectacle. At a moment when France itself is experiencing considerable political and social instability, a group of anarchists linked to an Armenian lobbying organisation has sought to create noise in the streets of Paris. That such an action could take place in France is hardly surprising. For decades, Armenian

lobbying networks have found a receptive environment there, turning the country into an important base for narratives and political campaigns directed at Azerbaijan.

The destruction of what Azerbaijan describes as a terrorist
infrastructure in Karabakh during the September 2023 anti-terror
operation appears to have had an unexpected afterlife in France.
With the separatist structure dismantled on the ground, its
remnants have increasingly resurfaced in European political and
public spaces.

Those brought to Baku after the operation and accused of war
crimes are now facing trial and, where guilt is established,
punishment before the courts. Unfortunately, justice is not always
accepted uniformly across the world. The principle should be
straightforward: the sovereignty of one state cannot simply be
disregarded because a political lobby or activist group finds that
sovereignty inconvenient.

If those behind the Paris demonstration understood that their
action could be interpreted as an attack on another country's
sovereignty and as a challenge to international law, perhaps such
political theatre would not be presented as something worthy of
public attention.

The most striking example is the large banner proclaiming that
120,000 Armenians were "expelled" from Karabakh. This claim, from
the perspective of the argument being advanced here, is not simply
a political accusation against Azerbaijan. It represents a broader
campaign to portray the events in Karabakh through a single
narrative while excluding the circumstances that preceded the
departure of the Armenian population.

The central point that these groups seek to obscure is that Baku
did not simply close its doors to Armenians who had been living in
Karabakh. The argument from Azerbaijan's side is that the
population left voluntarily, under the influence of forces seeking
to provoke confrontation from outside, after the separatist
structure that had existed there was dismantled.

The underlying principle, however, is clear. Azerbaijan's
territory is indivisible. The establishment of a so-called state or
"whatever" republic on Azerbaijani territory was never going to be
accepted by Baku, and the events of 2023 demonstrated that the
separatist project had reached its end.

However, political causes rarely disappear simply because they
have failed on the ground. They search for new stages, new
audiences and new political patrons. Today, separatist groups and
their supporters appear to be doing precisely that on the streets
of France, using striking posters and exhibitions to revive a
narrative that has already lost its territorial foundation.

The latest episode is particularly revealing. Audrey Pulvar,
Deputy Mayor of Paris, together with CCAF co-presidents Mourad
Papazian and Ara Toranian, installed panels on the forecourt of
Paris City Hall displaying photographs of so-called former
"Artsakh" leaders.

This raises a broader political question for France. How far
should a democratic state go in accommodating political activism
when that activism promotes a separatist narrative concerning the
territory of another sovereign state?

The contrast with the United States is also worth noting.
Similar Armenian diaspora activism appeared to enjoy considerable
political space during the previous Biden administration. However,
the political environment in Washington has changed, and narratives
that were once treated as politically convenient do not necessarily
carry the same weight everywhere or at every moment.

The ability to present a political narrative as an
unquestionable truth may have worked in some Western political
circles. But it does not make the narrative true, and it does not
guarantee that the same strategy will succeed indefinitely.

Paris, however, appears determined to remain faithful to an
older tradition.

The real issue is therefore not simply another street
demonstration or another political exhibition. It is whether France
is prepared to provide an increasingly prominent platform for
groups seeking to undermine the territorial integrity and
sovereignty of another country.

France is, of course, entitled to defend freedom of expression
and political assembly. But that principle should apply
consistently. The question is whether the French state is equally
open to all such exhibitions, gatherings and street demonstrations
when they challenge the sovereignty or territorial integrity of
other countries.

Or is there something more specific at work here?

If Paris continues to provide political space for organisations
associated with the Armenian lobbying movement to promote
separatist narratives about Azerbaijan's Karabakh, it will
inevitably invite a difficult conclusion: that this is less about
universal principles of democracy and more about a particular
political sympathy towards Armenian lobbying.

The separatist project may have disappeared from Karabakh. But
in the streets of Paris, its political afterlife is clearly still
being cultivated.

And that is a question France can no longer avoid.

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