French ecology minister hits back at Aliyev

France’s ecology minister pulled out of the COP29 climate talks in Azerbaijan Wednesday after its authoritarian leader accused France of colonialist “crimes” in New Caledonia, in the latest diplomatic spat between the two countries, AFP reported.

President Ilham Aliyev, who is hosting the COP29 UN climate talks in Baku, drew loud applause from delegates of some Pacific island nations after a combative speech in which he lambasted Paris over the bloody protests that in May rocked the Pacific archipelago ruled by France.

“The crimes of France in its so-called overseas territories would not be complete without mentioning the recent human rights violations,” said Aliyev.

“The regime of President (Emmanuel) Macron killed 13 people and wounded 169… during legitimate protests by the Kanak people in New Caledonia,” he added.

French Ecology Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher quickly hit back, telling lawmakers in Paris that she was cancelling her trip to the talks in protest at Aliyev’s “deplorable” speech.

She called his attack “unacceptable… and beneath the dignity of the presidency of the COP”.

It was also a “flagrant violation of the code of conduct” for running United Nations climate talks, she added.

In a further twist of the knife, the minister lacerated Aliyev for his “equally unacceptable comments on fossil fuels” after he described his country’s vast oil and gas reserves as a “gift of God”.

Despite her pull-out, Pannier-Runacher said the team of French negotiators in Baku would not relent in their efforts to do a deal “to protect the planet and its populations” from climate change.

Paris this year accused Azerbaijan of interfering in its domestic politics by stoking tensions in its overseas territories and dependencies, including the Pacific archipelago of New Caledonia.

Macron has also stayed away from COP29.