Hidalgo Pecresse and six other elected officials denounce the disgrace

Hidalgo, Pécresse and six other elected officials denounce the “disgrace” of organizing COP29 in Azerbaijan

From Le Figaro with AFP

Published yesterday at 11:50 p.m., updated yesterday at 11:50 p.m.

COP28 was held this year in Dubai, a country also criticized for its dependence on hydrocarbons. AMR ALFIKY / Portal

Eight key elected representatives from the right and left strongly denounced in La Tribune on Sunday the organization of the 29th UN Conference on Climate Change in Azerbaijan, considering it a “COP of disgrace and disgrace for France, the European Union and the democracies”. .

“In fact, its equipment would inevitably be used by the regime to wash away its attacks and assaults on pluralism and human rights,” accuse the mayors of Paris (Anne Hidalgo, PS), Montpellier (Michaël Delafosse, PS), Strasbourg ( Jeanne Barseghian, EELV), the presidents of the regions Île-de-France (Valérie Pécresse, LR), Occitanie (Carole Delga, PS) and Hauts-de-France (Xavier Bertrand, LR) as well as the supreme leader of LR Senators Bruno Retailleau and the former mayor of Marseille Michèle Rubirola (EELV).

Suppression and dependence on hydrocarbons

Azerbaijan will host COP29 from November 11 to 22, 2024, according to a decision adopted by COP28 in Dubai on Monday. The country is heavily dependent on hydrocarbons, which account for around half of its GDP, and a few days ago received Armenia's support, despite frequent armed clashes between the two countries.

The eight elected officials denounce Baku's repression of its opponents, including outside its territory, and believe that this “scandalous designation” is like a “release to the dictatorial regime of the clan led by (President) Ilham Aliyev.”

It also comes after his “military coup against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.” The Armenian separatist enclave was fully recaptured by Azerbaijan in a lightning offensive last September.

“It is imperative to end the Baku regime’s impunity. “That is why we urge France and the European Union to do everything possible to ensure that another location is found for COP29,” conclude the eight elected officials, who also refer to the “system of corruption” introduced by Baku. expand its influence in Europe”.