France’s Macron croons classic Aznavour ballad at state dinner in Armenia

French President Emmanuel Macron took to the microphone with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during a state dinner in Yerevan.

YEREVAN, Armenia — French President Emmanuel Macron stole some of the spotlight from other world leaders in Armenia’s capital this week when he crooned classic ballads, including “La Bohème,” at a glitzy state dinner.

Macron was joined by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on drums and celebrated jazz musician Vahagn Hayrapetyan on piano on Monday night in Yerevan. In addition to “La Bohème,” which was recorded by Armenian-French musician Charles Aznavour in 1965, Macron also sang “Les Feuilles Mortes” by Yves Montand.

The event at Armenia’s presidential residence on Monday night was held in Macron’s honour. The French leader was in town for a state visit that coincided with a gathering of the European Political Community and a historic European Union summit.

Pashinyan, who took office in 2018, more regularly flexes his musical prowess as part of his musical group Varchaband. It held its debut concert in Yerevan at the end of January.

The Armenian leader is also well known for posting videos of himself listening to music on Instagram, with his musical taste seemingly spanning from Taylor Swift to Travis Scott and A$AP Rocky.