Morocco Resists Calls to Boycott French Products Amid Caricature Controversy

In denouncing Islamophobia in France, the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated in a statement on October 25 that the publication of "offensive" caricatures of the Prophet was "an act of provocation". It is in this context that Turkey and other countries have launched a campaign to boycott French products in retaliation.

In the Kingdom, a hashtag #boycottLesproduitsfrançais has been widely circulated on social networks, showing supermarket shelves that were once full of French products, now completely empty, especially in the Middle East countries, especially Qatar and Kuwait. Faced with the scale of the campaign, the French government, which has not remained insensitive to it, has called for an end to the boycott, according to laquotidienne.ma.

What about the situation in Morocco? "... The risk may concern everyday consumer products, but not equipment products," said Moncef Belkhayat, member of the RNI political bureau, current president of WB Africa, a large distribution group, stressing that "most of the French products sold in Morocco are locally manufactured by Moroccan law companies, employing Moroccans and paying taxes generating revenue for the Moroccan state. Thus, the boycott of French products would constitute a quantitative loss for the Moroccan economy".

In addition, Mohamed Alouah, founder of the liberal reformist party, clearly stated that "France is the first foreign investor in Morocco with 900 subsidiaries established in Morocco. As well as the French Development Agency, which participates in the financing of structural projects in Morocco.

Apart from the accusation of the caricatures, the Moroccan political class does not address the issue of the boycott campaign, noted the same source.