The protests were started by the United Azerbaijan Popular Front party, whose members were shouting such slogans as “Shame on the patrons of the aggressor Armenia!” Local police forces broke up the picket and arrested one of the activists of the party. The protests were followed up by the Karabakh Liberation Organization, notorious for its anti-peace stance and more radical attitude towards Armenia than the government’s. Besides shouting anti-French slogans, the picketers managed to divert the police’s attention and throw eggs at the embassy building. As a result, six KLO activists were arrested. Nevertheless, the protestors delivered their declaration to the employees of the embassy, in which they called for a break of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and France and France’s expulsion from the OSCE Minsk group.

On the same day, the Karabakh Veterans Organization issued a statement, in which it echoed the demands of the KLO. The war veterans expressed their deep regret over France’s support to the historic injustice, and tied the decision of the French parliament with that country’s desire to prevent Turkey’s EU membership. “No one can guarantee that in the future similar acts will not be undertaken against Azerbaijan,” read the statement.

Opposition parties were similarly radical in their tone. Sardar Jalaloglu, the deputy chairman of the Democratic Party and one of the c-founders of the Azadliq (Freedom) political bloc said “France must answer for all the crimes it has committed since the time of Napoleon.” Umid (Hope) party chairman Igbal Agazadeh also demanded the expulsion of France from the negotiation process on the Karabakh conflict. The Musavat and Popular Front parties also joined the storm of criticism of France. “The decision of the French parliament carries an anti-Muslim and anti-Turkic nature and was passed under the influence of the Armenian lobby,” said a press release from the Musavat party.

Indeed, the decision of the French Parliament put French diplomats in a difficult position. Being one of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk group, responsible for the peace talks, France must behave in an impartial and neutral manner. Yet, French lawmakers, under the influence of the powerful Armenian Diaspora in that country, put their own Foreign Ministry in an awkward situation. The French Ambassador in Baku held a press conference a day earlier and expressed his hopes that the bill would not pass. Yet, few in Azerbaijan today doubt that France has a biased attitude. The long-time suspicions of Azerbaijanis that France is not a neutral player in the conflict, found their worst realization this week.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijani authorities also harshly criticized the decision, yet stopped short of calling for the expulsion of France from the peace process. Azerbaijani lawmakers have sent a note of protest to their French counterparts, yet a spokesman for the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tahir Tagizadeh, told journalists in Baku, “I don’t understand the rationale of those who call for the expulsion of France out of the Minsk group.”

No doubt, recent developments will negatively affect the peace talks on the Karabakh conflict. While in Baku several weeks ago, the French co-chair of the Minsk group angered the Azerbaijani public and media representatives by calling the capital of Karabakh by its Armenian name “Stepanakert”, whereas the official Azerbaijani name of the city is Khankendi.

As the year 2006, widely regarded as a “window of opportunity” for the resolution of the Karabakh conflict, is coming to an end with no major breakthrough achieved, pessimists in the Azerbaijani capital are more loudly calling for a military solution to the conflict. In this situation, the loss of credibility of the international mediators because of the decision of the French Parliament will negatively influence the ability of foreign diplomats to tone down this rhetoric.