While many celebrated France’s 3–0 victory over Azerbaijan in a World Cup 2026 qualifying match, French senator Valérie Boyer took to Facebook to share a message of solidarity with Armenians from Artsakh.
“While some watch and celebrate the France-Azerbaijan match, I will think of the Armenians of Artsakh—displaced, persecuted, uprooted from their homeland. It’s impossible to celebrate sports when the suffering of a friendly people goes ignored,” she wrote.
Boyer also shared a photo from her recent visit to Yerablur, Armenia’s military cemetery.
A consistent advocate for the rights of Artsakh Armenians, Boyer has long supported their right to self-determination and condemned Azerbaijan’s aggressive actions and alleged war crimes in the region.
On September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale offensive against Artsakh, subjecting the region to intense shelling. One day later, Artsakh authorities accepted a Russian-mediated ceasefire, agreeing to disarm and dissolve the Republic. Over 100,000 Armenians were forcibly displaced to Armenia. By late September, reports indicated only about 20 Armenians remained in the region. President Samvel Shahramanyan’s decree on dissolution took effect on January 1, 2024, though a second decree in October challenged the earlier order’s legitimacy.
