Ankara (AFP)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday called on the Turks to boycott French products, in the midst of a dispute with Paris over the treatment of Muslims in France and after the proliferation of demonstrations and calls for boycott in several countries in the Middle East.

"Just as in France some say + do not buy Turkish brands +, I am speaking from here to my nation: above all do not pay attention to French brands, do not buy them", declared Mr. Erdogan in a speech in Ankara.

"A lynching campaign similar to that against European Jews before WWII is being waged against Muslims," ​​he added, accusing some European leaders of "fascism" and "Nazism" ".

These remarks sparked a flood of criticism in the Muslim world, from political and religious leaders, elected officials but also ordinary citizens on social networks and provoked demonstrations and calls to boycott French products.

Two weeks ago, the Turkish president had already denounced as a provocation the declarations of Emmanuel Macron on "Islamist separatism" and the need to "structure Islam" in France.

Mr. Erdogan then questioned Emmanuel Macron's mental health, suggesting that he do "mental health examinations".

Attack repeated a second time during the last weekend.

The French president, however, recorded a series of support in Europe, including that of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who condemned "defamatory" remarks against him.

For his part, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte described Mr. Erdogan's comments as "unacceptable".

"The Netherlands resolutely defend alongside France the common values ​​of the EU. For freedom of expression and against extremism and radicalism," he tweeted.

In Qatar, French products were withdrawn from the shelves of certain supermarkets in Doha on Saturday evening.

- "Resist blackmail" -

On social media, Jordanians have launched a campaign using the hashtags "#Our Prophet is a red line", or "#France Boycott", and are posting videos of restaurants and supermarkets where the products are French have been replaced by articles from other countries.

Several dozen small French websites have also been affected by a wave of computer hacks consisting in making them post Islamist propaganda messages, AFP noted on Monday.

Agribusiness, luxury goods and cosmetics companies could be particularly affected in the Maghreb and Near and Middle East countries.

In the direction of the Turkish market, 6 billion euros of French goods were exported in 2018, with the transport equipment and chemicals, perfumes and cosmetics sectors in the lead.

The Minister Delegate in charge of Industry, Agnès Panier-Runacher, judged Monday this boycott "more symbolic than economic", adding, during a broadcast of the media Le Figaro, that he would not have "really to medium term impact ".

The boss of the French bosses Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux had called earlier in the day companies to "resist blackmail and unfortunately to undergo this boycott" and to put their "principles" before business.

The French Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that "calls for a boycott are pointless and must cease immediately, as well as all attacks directed against our country, instrumentalized by a radical minority".

The Quai d'Orsay says it has mobilized the French diplomatic network "to remind and explain (to other countries) France's positions in terms of fundamental freedoms and rejection of hatred".

In 2019, France exported 11.5 billion euros of goods to the areas of the Near and Middle East, including 1.3 billion of food products, according to customs data.

© 2020 AFP