What happened in the French city of Évian-les-Bains is absurd, and it is the actions of pro-Armenian forces that are completely far from objectivity, Honorary Senator of this country Alain Vasselle told Report while commenting on the damage caused to the Azerbaijani park as a result of the impact of pro-Armenian forces in the city of Évian and the initiatives to change the name of the park by the city mayor's office.
He said there are different ways to express dissatisfaction with the events: "But writers and poets are our history. The works of our geniuses like Duma and the poetess Khurshidbanu Natavan are part of our cultural heritage."
The honorary senator added that conditions should have been created for Azerbaijan to restore its territorial integrity and sovereignty peacefully: "Armenia and Azerbaijan should have agreed to sit down at the negotiating table through diplomatic channels."
The President of the Association of Friends of Azerbaijan (ADA) in France, former member of the French National Assembly, Jerome Lambert, emphasized that the actions taken by the Évian mayor's office are completely inappropriate and are the result of the activities of the Armenian diaspora, which is very strong: "Since Azerbaijan restored its sovereignty over the territories occupied by Armenia 30 years ago, opposition forces have risen against official Baku in France. These forces are taking advantage of the Armenian diaspora in France, which is dissatisfied with the situation. This opposition even resorts to hysterical behavior. A number of representatives of the Armenian diaspora in France are trying to incite French politicians against Azerbaijan."
Lambert said that it is impossible to show any reason for the hateful actions against Azerbaijan: "Azerbaijan has claimed its rights. Pro-Armenian forces operating against Azerbaijan in France are preventing peace between Baku and Yerevan."
Jean-Luc Reitzer, an honorary member of the French National Assembly and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, told Report that he was very saddened by the ill-treatment of the monument of Azerbaijani poetess Khurshidbanu Natavan in Évian.
"I was saddened by what happened in the city of Évian. There have always been good relations between Azerbaijan and France in every field—economic, cultural, and others. However, today, many people in France are taking a position against Azerbaijan without knowing its history. During the First Karabakh War, Karabakh was captured and controlled by separatists. No state, not even Armenia, recognized the independence of this territory. During the second Karabakh War, Azerbaijan managed to restore its territorial integrity. Those who talk about Armenian refugees forget that hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis were forced to leave their homes and land in Karabakh after the First Karabakh War. I visited those refugee camps in Baku. Today, I am very saddened by the unfair attitude towards Azerbaijan and the position of the Azerbaijani people in my country."