In one of the reports of the television stations of Lyon on June 27, UMP deputy Reno Miuselie introduced Patrick Devejian to the newly elected UMP deputy Mishel Havari. “This is Mishel Havari, who beat Anna-Maria Comparini. It was a good victory.”
The secretary general of the UMP party (Union for Popular Movement, chaired by Nicolas Sarkozy) and chairman of the General Council of the Hauts-de-Seine region, deputy Patrick Devejian, had this to say regarding Comparini:
“That immoral…”
All French television channels dedicated all their news broadcasts to the words spoken by Devejian. Comparini told “Liberation” on the occasion of the words of Devejian:
“These words seem very insulting to me, especially coming from the person who pronounced them. This goes to show that he [Devejian] still has a lot of work to do in how he works with women politicians.”
French presses were repeating the words of Devejian, and his response to all that, all day long. Devejian apologized to Comparini. He is a rather prominent political activist in the French political scene and one of the closest allies of French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Let us recall that on October 12, 2006, the French parliament passed the bill penalizing the denial of the Armenian Genocide; the bill constitutes a 45,000 Euro fine and sentences anyone who denies the Armenian Genocide to prison for a year. The bill has been presented to the Senate for ratification, and discussions on the bill will be in the agenda of the French Senate in October-November of this year. In light of this, Patrick Devejian told “168 Hours” on June 27 that Turkey must initiate more steps and must open its border with Armenia, which will support the economic development of Armenia. Devejian mentioned that the biggest and most painful issue for Armenians is the issue concerning Turkey’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
“We are all sick; Turkey must recognize the genocide that it perpetrated. Only then will the Armenians be cured of that illness.”
Devejian noted that Armenia and all Armenians must attentively follow the Turkish presidential elections. According to him, many things may change in the South Caucasus based on the outcome of those elections, and he even thought a militant overthrow in Turkey possible. One of the famous Armenians of France characterized Devejian as a political activist with an outlook of the future and who is able to predict the possible developments of events.
“Five years ago, during a dinner, Devejian outlined the political events that we witnessed during the past two months,” our interviewee said before our meeting. Patrick Devejian joked about that, saying “My grandmother taught me from an early age how to read coffee cups.”
During the days of the French presidential elections, French and Turkish presses wrote that it was possible that Devejian would be appointed French Foreign Minister. Those days the Turkish press was subjecting Devejian to sharp criticism, but one of the representatives of the ruling UMP party said that Devejian wanted to become foreign affairs minister because he is a lawyer by profession. Let us add that before Devejian, the chairman of the General Council of the Hauts-de-Seine region was Sh. Pascua, and also Nicholas Sarkozy. With its influence, this and other positions held by Devejian are hardly anything less than the post of minister.