‘We are walking, we are walking, walking’ — this is how Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan describes his stroll with French President Emmanuel Macron through the streets of Yerevan.
The words are a line from a song he wrote ahead of the Velvet Revolution in 2018, symbolising his protest march from Gyumri to Yerevan. The march became a defining act of anti-government resistance that ultimately led to the ouster of Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan and Pashinyan’s rise to power.
Macron’s state visit comes as Armenia hosted the European Political Community Summit (EPC) on 4 May — becoming the first Caucasus state to do so — alongside the inaugural EU–Armenia summit.
While the summit brought a host of Western leaders to the Armenian capital, it was Macron’s trip, formally linked to the summit but also conducted as a separate official visit, that drew the most public attention. The well-known French leader is widely regarded in Armenia as a friend to the country. During his stay, he presented a more informal public image than other leaders, jogging in Yerevan in the morning, taking evening strolls with Pashinyan, and joining him in song.
The hijinks are familiar to Armenian society, based on what it has observed from Pashinyan since he came to power, with some jokingly referring to the premier as the country’s ‘number one influencer’.
Highly active on social media beyond official communications, Pashinyan regularly shares day-to-day moments, walking in public, being photographed, showcasing his hobbies, which currently include drumming and making heart gestures with his hands. Previously, he was often seen cycling both in Yerevan and in foreign capitals during official visits, including on several occasions in Paris.
Since Macron’s arrival, public attention has doubled, involving both leaders.
Landing in Yerevan on 3 May, he joined Pashinyan for evening walks through the city centre, followed by a final stroll in Gyumri, Armenia’s second-largest city.
Fragments of the outings were shared by both leaders, with Pashinyan also livestreaming the walks and even an outing at a cafe, in line with his social media style.
They greeted passersby, stopped for photos, and helped take a photo for a man with an injured arm. At one point, Pashinyan offered his services as a photographer to take a snap of Macron posing with a woman as they were strolling in the city. On several occasions, Macron signed Armenian copies of his book, Revolution. One young woman was seen crying after getting her copy signed.
As journalists and onlookers filmed the walks, people called out Macron’s name, shouting Vive la France and ‘Bienvenue en Armenia’ (‘welcome to Armenia’), with Macron responding with hand waves and air kisses.
‘Very happy to be back in Armenia’, Macron said in a social media post, expressing gratitude for the ‘warm welcome’, in his first post after arriving in the country.
However, Macron was yet to be surprised to hear people singing the French national anthem on several occasions to honour him. In one instance, while having tea with Pashinyan and other officials at a café in central Yerevan, a middle-aged man approached and began singing the anthem. Assuming that the man heard it during the recent official events, Armenian Parliamentary Speaker Alen Simonayan responded by saying: ‘everybody sings this song’.
During one of the walks, the pair also briefly encountered Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, who was also in Armenia for the EPC summit.
Other widely shared footage showed Macron jogging through Yerevan, petting stray dogs before entering his hotel, and in another moment, kissing a baby on the forehead. The child began to cry shortly after receiving Macron’s smooch.
Perhaps the most notable moment, however, was their joint performance during an official reception, with Macron singing La Bohème by Charles Aznavour, an iconic French–Armenian singer, accompanied by Pashinyan on the drums. Drumming is a relatively new hobby for Pashinyan, who has taken to performing publicly with his band.
Pashinyan’s band holds debut concert in Yerevan
Medals, statements, and endorsement
While in Yerevan, Macron paid tribute at the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial and visited the Matenadaran, touring the collections of Armenian ancient manuscripts with Armenian officials.
Aside from the musical performance, the Armenian and French leaders also exchanged their countries’ highest state honours during an official reception — Armenia’s Order of Glory was awarded to Macron, while the French Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour was conferred on Pashinyan and President Vahagn Khachaturyan.
In his toast, as part of the protocol, Pashinyan acknowledged Macron’s ‘great contribution’ to their relations.
He referred to a meeting in October 2022, a pivotal moment in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, when Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev agreed to recognise each other’s territorial integrity, including Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan. A year later, following the country’s final offensive, Azerbaijan captured the region, displacing virtually its entire Armenian population — over 100,000 people — within days.
Around the time of the meeting, Pashinyan said it seemed Armenia ‘no longer had any hope and support, and there was no force and individual who could hold our hand, we felt and touched President Macron’s hand in the most difficult moment, and he held our hand tightly, we held his hand tightly’.
He also pointed to growing defence cooperation; France is the first EU state to supply military equipment to Armenia.
Pashinyan says ‘no country’ except Russia wanted to sell weapons to Armenia before 2022
The deal with France followed Armenia’s defeat in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020, as well as a series of Azerbaijani attacks into Armenian territory in 2021 and 2022. It also came at a time when Armenia faced difficulties with Russia, amid reports that weapons it had purchased were not being delivered as Russia was waging its full-scale war against Ukraine.
Macron, in turn, emphasised the historical ties between the two countries and expressed support for Armenia’s choice of ‘full independence, peace, stability in this volatile region, [and] choice of Europe and prosperity’.
‘The strategic partnership agreement to be signed tomorrow is the result of our joint defence efforts in recent years, since our relations have never been at this level’, Macron said, adding that it would open ‘new economic pages between our countries, strengthen educational, linguistic, and cultural ties’.
The agreement, signed on Tuesday in a ceremony attended by officials and the private sector from both countries, also included documents outlining cooperation in AI, cybersecurity, semiconductors, and research and development in military technologies and defence systems.
Armenia signs agreements with EU and France
While in Yerevan, Macron also urged Azerbaijan and Turkey to open their borders with Armenia, highlighting the strategic importance of the South Caucasus region.
‘The South Caucasus must not be a place of competition between empires that view the region as spoils or a prize, pitting local nations against one another. The South Caucasus can restore its central position between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, becoming a crossroads in this region, becoming the Middle Corridor. This implies that borders must be opened’, Macron said.
In a press briefing, he also promised to discuss with Aliyev the issue of the 19 Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan. The prisoners, which include the former leadership of Nagorno-Karabakh, are serving lengthy sentences after being convicted in closed-door trials.
Reflecting on Armenia’s recent history since his previous visit to Armenia in 2018, Macron noted that despite undergoing ‘trials’, Armenia had ‘resolutely chosen the path of peace and the path of prosperity and has strengthened its democracy’.
‘Armenia is resolutely moving towards Europe. And Armenia has always been a full member of the European family, but this progress in the field of European politics, one might say, has been obvious to me in these last two days’, Macron said in reference to the two summits Yerevan hosted, adding that this would have been ‘unimaginable eight years ago’.
During the visit, Macron also notably endorsed Pashinyan ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for 7 June. Prior to Macron, US Vice President JD Vance also endorsed Pashinyan in his historic first visit to Armenia in February.
According to Tigran Grigoryan, a political analyst and the head of the Regional Centre for Democracy and Security, Macron’s visit was likely tied to the upcoming elections.
Grigoryan noted that the strategic partnership sealed in Yerevan ‘reflects the progress in bilateral relations that we have witnessed over the past several years’. Though Yerevan had previously signed similar agreements with several other European countries, ‘the substance of those relationships was not as developed as it is with Paris’, he told OC Media.
‘That is why the timing is important: Macron’s state visit, the signing of this agreement, and the broader set of events surrounding it coincide with the upcoming elections in Armenia. Both his visit and the two summits held in Yerevan can be seen as a soft form of support for Pashinyan in the lead-up to the elections. At the same time, these developments signal Armenia’s growing role as the EU’s main, and effectively only, remaining partner in the South Caucasus’, Grigoryan said.
Goodbye from Gyumri
Macron’s visit to Armenia concluded in Gyumri with a joint Armenia–France concert in the city’s main square. Ahead of the concert, the leaders paid tribute to the victims of the 1988 earthquake that devastated the city.
Gyumri has long been known as a bastion of opposition politics, a trend that predates Pashinyan’s tenure in office.
In 2025, the ruling Civil Contract party failed to win the mayoralty in the city despite receiving the highest number of votes, with a candidate from the opposition Communist Party corralling the support of other opposition factions.
Members of Civil Contract have warned that the opposition may be preparing for a similar scenario ahead of the parliamentary elections in an effort to return to power.
After strolls and photo ops around Gyumri, Pashinyan addressed Macron from a stage set up in the city centre, telling him just how popular he is in the country.
‘Now, every time such a scene occurs, I constantly remind him that, look, I wasn’t exaggerating’, Pashinyan said.
In turn, Macron expressed gratitude for the warm hospitality and said that he was ‘extremely proud to be here with you’.
‘And just as we were by your side in December 1988, we will be by your side now. Thank you, Gyumri, thank you, Armenia. And never forget: France loves you. Long live Armenia, long live France, and long live Gyumri’, Macron said.
From Gyumri, Pashinyan and Macron headed to Yerevan’s Zvartnots International Airport, with Pashinyan publishing the last content together for these meetings, from the car to and from the airport.