Georgian Dream criticises Macron, French Embassy following calls for new election

Georgian Dream sharply criticised a statement made by French President Emmanuel Macron regarding alleged election manipulation in Georgia and the calls for a redo of the vote.

On Monday, during his speech at the annual conference of French ambassadors at the Élysée Palace, Macron spoke about several foreign policy issues. Among the topics mentioned were Russia’s attempts to destabilise a number of countries, including Georgia.

Macron mentioned Georgia twice: In the first case, he said that in recent years, Russia has accelerated its aggression towards Europeans, adding that it is not a new phenomenon, but that it is clearer and more explicit than before.

In particular, Macron mentioned malign Russian influence in the South Caucasus.

‘In Armenia, where Russia, by abruptly changing alliances, supported Azerbaijan’s actions because, for the first time, it had a prime minister with the courage to stand up to it. In Georgia, where it has, in an obvious manner, destabilised the electoral process and falsified it’, the French president said.

In the second case, Macron addressed the post-election crisis in Georgia and the widespread calls for the new elections.

‘I ask the [French diplomatic] network to continue to be engaged with all the fighters for freedom. In Georgia, with all those who fought for an election, with this courageous president [Salome Zourabichvili] and these protesters, and by fighting to ensure transparency, and if the way out of the crisis must be the reorganisation of an election, to do so’, he said.

The last remark was shared by the French Ambassador to Georgia, Sheraz Gasri, on X, where she highlighted Macron’s emphasis that ‘new elections could be a way out of the political crisis’.

Macron’s statements were quickly met with harsh criticism from Georgian Dream officials, with Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili advising French authorities, with apparent sarcasm, that new elections ‘could be a good way out of the political crisis’ in their own country. Papuashvili was likely hinting at political instability in France, with the absence of a single majority group in parliament, the government’s collapse in December, and the failure to approve the 2025 budget before an end-of-year deadline.

Georgian Dream explicitly criticised the French Embassy in Georgia, with Papuashvili saying that ‘When allegations are made on the level of gossip and become part of the president’s talking points, this clearly shows the dishonesty of those preparing such statements for President Macron. First and foremost, the responsibility lies with the French Embassy in Georgia’.

The criticism from Papuashvili and others often, at least in part, relied on an incorrect translation of Macron’s statement, which purported to say that he had spoken about ‘ballot stuffing’ during the parliamentary election in October. The incorrect translation appeared in several Georgian media outlets, with some later correcting it and noting that the earlier version was based on the English translation by France 24, not the original official statement.

‘Electronic elections were held in Georgia, and no one could stuff the boxes with the amount of ballots to influence the outcome. He [Macron] should probably know that’, said Foreign Minister Maka Bochorishvili in an interview with the pro-government TV channel Imedi, which dedicated an extensive report to Macron’s statement under the headline ‘Macron’s false narrative’.

In the article published on Imedi’s website which addresses Bochorishvili’s comment, no corrections can be found at the time of this publication. There are also no visible corrections on any of Bochorishvili’s official social media pages.

In response to Macron’s statement, Georgian Dream officials also mentioned Ukraine.

‘The French president should focus on Ukraine, which was sacrificed for destruction’, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said, repeating his party’s claim amidst increasingly hostile attitudes towards the EU and its politicians.

Georgian Dream officials have repeatedly spread the narrative that the West pushed Ukraine into war, as well as the notion that similar Western forces are attempting to pressure Georgia to open a second front against Russia. Both Ukraine and the West have rejected these claims.

The verbal escalation came almost a month after a phone call between Macron and the honorary chairman of Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili.

At the time, Georgian Dream’s initial interpretation of the phone call was notably milder than the statement from the Élysée Palace, which underscored Macron’s condemnation of the intimidation of civil society and the opposition, as well as the violence against peaceful protesters and journalists, while calling for the release of all individuals detained arbitrarily during the protests.

Later, Georgian Dream issued a follow-up statement, explaining the responses Ivanishvili gave to Macron about the detained demonstrators, as well as the actions of the police during the demonstrations.

Macron has repeatedly addressed the ongoing political crisis in Georgia in recent weeks. On 13 December, Macron recorded a video address in which he stated that the betrayal of the European aspirations enshrined in Georgia’s constitution cannot be allowed.

Earlier, in Paris, during the opening of the Notre-Dame Cathedral, President Salome Zourabichvili met with several political leaders, including Macron. Zourabichvili stated that during the meeting she exposed the stolen elections and the repression against the Georgian people.

When EU politicians say one thing, Georgian Dream leaders say another

EU politicians have taken to issuing their own corrective statements following meetings with Georgian Dream leaders.

OC MediaMikheil Gvadzabia