French President Emmanuel Macron visited Armenia for the European Political Community (EPC) summit in the capital of Yerevan, and received a warm welcome at a well-attended outdoor event. When Macron shared the video (below) from the event, he wrote (translated into English), “France loves you.”
[NOTE: Macron’s visit with Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is running for re-election, emphasized a strategic partnership between France and Armenia, as the two leaders signed a joint declaration establishing a Strategic Partnership Agreement focused on defense, cybersecurity, regional access, and high-tech cooperation.]
In some ways this is even worse for Putin than the Zelenskyy visit. You could never imagine Putin doing this anywhere outside of a tightly secured area of Russia with selected participants bussed in.
Macron getting rockstar treatment in Armenia. https://t.co/xIpYVdQdnc
— Oz Katerji (@OzKaterji) May 5, 2026
Political podcaster Oz Katerji, who is based in Kyiv, Ukraine, amplified Macron’s post and added: “In some ways this is even worse for Putin than the Zelenskyy visit. You could never imagine Putin doing this anywhere outside of a tightly secured area of Russia with selected participants bussed in. Macron getting rockstar treatment in Armenia.”
[NOTE: “France has one of the largest Armenian expatriate communities in Europe, and Macron has long championed a European path for Yerevan,” according to The Guardian.]
Political analyst Marika Mikiashvili, who is based in Georgia, also responded to Macron’s visit: “Not just ‘in Armenia’ but in a town that hosts the most prominent Russian military base in the region,” with a laughing crying emoji.
[NOTE: The Russian 102nd Military Base in Gyumri, Armenia, which is about 75 miles north of Yerevan, is under the command of the Russian Armed Forces. According to Euractiv, Russian security presence at the base “has been reduced significantly,” leaving Armenia’s southern border with Azerbaijan vulnerable and reportedly pushing Armenia to look West to the European Union and the U.S. for “closer cooperation.” In April, Russian leader Vladimir Putin “rebuked Pashinyan’s courting of the EU during a face-to-face meeting in Moscow.”]