In Georgia, the protester with the European flag erected as a heroine

Protesters waving a European Union flag brace themselves as they are sprayed by a water cannon during clashes with riot police near the Georgian parliament, in Tbilisi, March 7, 2023. STRINGER /AFP

The video sequence lasts a few tens of seconds. We see a woman waving the European flag against the powerful jet of a water cannon. She is soaked and wobbles, but stands up to the police, quickly joined by other demonstrators who have come to unite around her. Tuesday, March 7, in Tbilisi, no image better embodied the aspiration of Georgians to join the European Union (EU), but also their rage against the government, which threatened to dash this hope to nothing by adopting its bill on “foreign agents”. The text, modeled on a Russian law to silence critical voices, planned to designate under the infamous name of “foreign agents” any NGO or media receiving more than 20% of its funding from abroad, subject to fines.

The gesture of Nana Malachkhia, 47, was relayed en masse on social networks and made her a symbol in her country, but also abroad. When a European delegation came to Tbilisi on Tuesday, one of its representatives, Lawrence Meredith, said he was “keeping this image in mind” rather than that of the European flag burned in front of Parliament on the day of his visit, by a far-right and ultra-minority pro-Russian group, Alt Info. The event was described as an “isolated incident”. In France, Emmanuel Macron also mentioned the famous video during the Franco-British summit on March 10. “We have seen disturbing images in recent days [en Géorgie] : a woman carrying the European flag jostled, to put it mildly. All this cannot leave us indifferent. Under pressure, the ruling Georgian Dream party finally backed out of its bill the same day.

This sudden notoriety makes Nana Malachkhia uncomfortable. Naturally discreet, this official at the town hall of Tbilisi rejects the label of “heroine” attached to her by the Georgian press, and prefers to salute the courage of the entire population. “It’s not my victory, but that of all Georgians,” she explains. The government crossed a red line, as this law was intended to sabotage the country’s European perspective. »

“All gathered around the same idea”

The municipal employee, with a neat look and a wise scarf tied around her neck, receives at her sister, Nino, with whom she participated in the demonstration. She remembers the anger that invaded her when she learned that the government had just adopted the text in first reading. “I was furious! They had lied to us again, and on top of that they were trampling on the Constitution! This call, in fact, to take all measures to ensure Georgia’s integration into the EU and NATO. Nana Malachkhia insists: she had read the bill before going to demonstrate, contrary to what the pro-Russian radicals claim who have since targeted her.

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