President of Azerbaijan highlights crimes committed by France in overseas territories

“French Polynesia and New Caledonia have been recognized as non-self-governing territories by the United Nations since 1946-1947. However, their decolonization process is still delayed,” said President Ilham Aliyev during his speech at the Leaders’ Summit of the Small Islands Developing States on Climate Change held on November 13 as part of COP29, according to Report.

“French Polynesia faced serious environmental degradation due to 193 nuclear tests conducted by France. France is responsible for severe soil and water contamination and radiation there. If we add the 17 nuclear tests conducted by France in Algeria during the years of occupation, we will see what damage this country made to the ecosystem of the planet,” the President noted.

President Ilham Aliyev highlighted incidents of human rights violations by France in overseas territories, pointing out that during protests in New Caledonia, numerous citizens were killed and injured by the Macron regime.