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French media published a statement by the MP of the French Parliament, the president of the parliamentary friendship group "France-Armenia" René Rouquet in connection with the conference titled “25 years after the Sumgait events: present situation and future prospects for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh”.

The statement says,

"The conference, which was attended by numerous French parliamentarians, was held in very good conditions. A documentary film, which tells about the events that took place on the 26th, 27th and 28th of February in Sumgait, was presented. After that, I made a speech, chairman of the Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations of France Mourad Papazian, the representatives of the Nagorno-Karabakh Hovhannes Grigoryan, Armenian Ambassador to France Vigen Chitchyan too made speeches. After the conference, when the leaders were asked to honor the victims of the massacre with a moment of silence, the two people started to make noise and announced anti-Armenian slogans. Because of this shameful behavior, and after physical threats towards one of the organizers, the passions rose and the crush began.

It is clear that questions arise about the real motives of the two personalities, who most probably, have not come to honor the victims, but to escalate nationalistic passions. I condemn with the utmost rigor such a low and unacceptable act which brings respect neither to its performers, nor to the organizers. I have always spoken about the Nagorno-Karabakh from the standpoint of peace and dialogue, and such incidents should not distract us from the real goals of this conference which is to give the people of Artsakh satisfactory prospects for the future.”

Earlier, the member of parliament of France, Henri Gibrail and deputy chairman of the Department Council of the Bouches du Rhone Christoph Mass also issued a joint statement regarding the recent provocations.

The statement said in particular: “The incident that took place in the Supreme Court in the Republic of France is provocation and disrespect, which the two so-called Azerbaijani students showed. This is an encroachment on freedom of speech. These unacceptable actions prove once again that the activists feel absolutely unpunished being fed by anti-Armenian propaganda of Azerbaijan and President Ilham Aliyev. Republic of France cannot allow the outside forces to penetrate into our country and manipulate it and introduce here the anti-Armenian, racist moods. At the threshold of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide it has become necessity for France to reassert its sovereign authority and defended trampled memory of the Armenian community of France. President F. Hollande took over this responsibility in his campaign. Adoption of a law criminalizing denial of the Armenian Genocide will be just that powerful action that will allow both to defend the memory of Armenians and preserve civil peace in our country. "

On December 22, 2011 bill criminalizing Armenian Genocide denial in France was unanimously approved by French Parliament in 2-hour-long discussions (including the Armenian Genocide including in the Ottoman Empire in 1915.). Bill introduced by MP Valerie Boyer (UMP) envisaged a 45000 euro fine and a one-year imprisonment in case of denial of the Armenian Genocide. Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero noted that the bill is a parliamentary initiative, which fits into the context of "punishment and nihilistic racist statements." On 23 January 2012 the upper house of the French parliament (Senate) accepted the bill with 127 votes "for" and 86 "against." Later, complaint was lodged against this bill to the Constitutional Council of France, which was later recognized as unconstitutional.

On 26 February, in 2013, in one of the halls of the National Assembly of France a conference titled “25 years after the Sumgait events: present situation and future prospects for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh” was held. The conference was marred by the Azerbaijani provocation.

At the end, the attendees stood to honor the memory of the victims killed during Sumgait pogroms and kept a minute's silence. Two Azerbaijani provocateurs, a girl and a young man, refused to stand up and to honor the Armenian victims in Azerbaijan and started to shout anti-Armenian slogans. On the photos, published in “Nouvelles d'Armenie”, it is obvious how the Azerbaijani tries to provoke a fight and attacks the audience. Azeri press disseminated false information about beating and causing serious injuries, right up to fracturing, to provocateurs. In the photos, published in the same Azerbaijani media, it is clearly visible that there is no serious damage caused to both. Moreover, participants of the provocation give contradicting evidence about the incident: at first they say the girl was beaten together with the guy, then they say she managed to leave the room.

On 26-29 February 1988 in terms of actual complicity of local authorities and inaction of the USSR government mass pogroms of civilians were organized in Sumgait city of Azerbaijani SSR, accompanied with unprecedented brutal murders, violence and pillaging against the Armenian population of the city. Armenian pogroms in Sumgait were carefully organized. At the meetings, which began on February 26 in the central square, city leaders openly called for violence against the Armenians.

On February 27 protests which were attended by hundreds of rioters turned into violence. Armed with axes, knives, specially sharpened rebar, rocks and cans of gasoline and with the pre-compiled lists of apartments where Armenians lived the rioters broke into the houses, turning everything upside down there and killing the owners. In the same time, people were often taken out to the streets or to the courtyard for jeering at them publicly. After painful humiliations and torture the victims were doused with gasoline and burnt alive.

On February 29 army troops entered Sumgait but without an order to intervene. Only in the evening, when the mad crowd began to attack the soldiers the military units took up decisive steps.

The exact number of victims of Sumgait pogroms is still unknown. According to official data, 32 people were killed; however there is ample evidence that several hundred Armenians have been killed in the city in three days. There is also evidence that the riots were coordinated by KGB in Azerbaijan. Executioners of Sumgait were subsequently declared as national heroes of Azerbaijan.

Documentary “Ordinary Genocide: Sumgait 1988”