Caricatures of Muhammad: a boycott of French products begins in the Arab world
Cosmetic products from the French brand L'Oréal, exhibited in Los Angeles in September 2013 (illustration photo).
John Shearer / Invision / AP
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
The initiative risks hurting many French companies.
Calls for a boycott of French products are increasing in several countries in the Middle East, while the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, has promised not to “renounce the caricatures” of the Prophet Muhammad.
A campaign that began Friday, October 23 in Kuwait, and which is gaining momentum on social networks all over the Arab world.
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Photos, relayed on social networks, show supermarket employees removing from the shelves this flagship product of the French industrial cheese factory.
The manufacturer Kiri, but also Babybel, are also bearing the brunt of the boycott campaign, which also affects the tourism sector: 430 travel agencies have suspended flight bookings to France.
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A boycott still limited for the moment
“
There is nothing good in a nation that does not get angry when its prophet is insulted,
” read a sign on Twitter under the hashtag (hashtag) “
touch the prophet
”.
There is also this poster in a street in Kuwait that shows the imprint of a boot on the face of Emmanuel Macron, along with a list of brands to boycott: Dior, L'Oréal, Carrefour, Elf, Michelin, Accor ...
In Qatar, the supermarkets of the Al Rawnaq brand claim to be patriots and faithful to the Muslim religion: the brand announces the withdrawal of French products until further notice.
But for now, this boycott remains very limited.
Nothing is to report in Egypt, Iran, Iraq or Turkey, tell us our correspondents on the spot.
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