What Sparked The ‘Boycott French Products’ Protest?
Middle East countries have come together and are asking everyone to boycott French products. So, what triggered the protests?
What Happened?
Earlier in October, the French President Emmanuel Macron described Islam as a “religion in crisis”. This remark triggered a backlash from Muslim activists across the world. After this comment, Macron announced presenting a bill to bolster a 1905 law in December that separates the Church from the State.
In another incident, in October, Samuel Paty, a teacher was killed by 18-year-old Chechnya-born Abdullakh Anzorov for showing blasphemous caricatures of Prophet Muhammad in a Civics class on freedom of expression.
Macron called the incident “Islamist terrorism”. In a ceremony dedicated to the memory of Paty, Macron said, as quoted by The Local France, “We will not give up cartoons”. This remark by Macron has sparked protests in several countries.
A Call To Protest
Both everyday people and some political leaders across the Muslim majority nations were angered by Macron’s remarks. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asked people not to buy French products. He was quoted by The Independent, saying, “Just like they say, ‘Don’t buy goods with Turkish brands’ in France, I am calling to all my citizens from here to never help French brands or buy them”.
Erdoğan’s call for a boycott sparked protests in Bangladesh. Around 40,000 people marched through Dhaka, demanding a boycott of French goods. There have also been protests in Iraq, Libya and Syria. On Sunday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan accused the French president of “attacking Islam”. Social media platforms are also filled with posters calling for the boycott of products from France.
The Impact
Due to the protests, foreign trade of over $100 billion that France has with predominantly Muslim countries is at stake. As stated by Anadolu Agency (AA), predominantly Muslim countries hold a crucial role in France’s foreign trade. In 2019, France is said to have exported goods worth $45.8 billion to predominantly Muslim countries while the imports stood at $58 billion.
Even though it is difficult to ascertain what is the impact of the protest, the French firms and sectors with exposure to Muslim-majority countries might feel the heat.
Since grain accounts for a large part of France’s agricultural exports to the Middle East, we might see the exports of grains getting affected. The ANIA (Association Nationale des Industries Alimentaires) lobby group said that the trade department at the foreign ministry had established a crisis centre and was liaising with agriculture industry representatives.
In a store, Reuters visited in Kuwait City on Sunday, cosmetic and skin care products produced by L’Oreal, which is a French company, had been cleared from the shelves. Supermarkets, automakers as well as the energy and defence & aerospace sectors may feel the pinch too.
France’s Move
On Monday, France’s foreign ministry demanded that the calls for a boycott of its products must end immediately. Macron was quoted by The Guardian saying, “We respect all differences in a spirit of peace. We will never accept hate speech and we defend reasonable debate. We will continue. We hold ourselves always on the side of human dignity and universal values”.
On Tuesday, the European Commission warned that Erdoğan’s comments make Turkey’s stalled bid to join the bloc an even more distant prospect. France has also encouraged EU allies to adopt measures against Turkey.
Will this protest affect France in a major way or will Turkey face the heat from EU allies — We have to wait and see what the future holds…
Head to moneyguru’s Insight section to stay updated on all major financial news updates of the day!
