Armenia’s government has excluded leading French-Armenian community representatives from the official inauguration of the new Armenian Embassy building in Paris, prompting criticism from the Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF).
The ceremony, held Tuesday, was attended by Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and other officials. However, CCAF co-chairmen Ara Toranian and Mourad Papazian were not invited. Bishop Grigor Khachatrian, primate of the Armenian Church diocese in France, was also absent from the guest list.
In a statement, the CCAF said an embassy should represent “the entire Armenian people in all their diversity” and serve as a common home for the nation, beyond political disagreements. By excluding recognized Diaspora representatives, the group said, Armenia’s government appeared to be abandoning that unifying role.
The dispute comes two months after the CCAF condemned Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church and expressed support for Catholicos Garegin II.
The CCAF is one of the most influential Armenian Diaspora organizations, regularly engaging with senior French officials. Papazian, a Dashnaktsutyun leader in France and frequent critic of Pashinian, was previously barred from entering Armenia in 2022 before the ban was lifted two years later.
