“The truth beneath the Pyrenees, the error beyond”said Blaise Pascal. This axiom also works with the Atlantic Ocean. By “solidarity with the agricultural world”Alexandre Bompard, general director of Carrefour, committed on Wednesday, November 20, that“Meatless from Mercosur” It is not sold in their stores. A not very restrictive announcement, when these products – real red rags for French ranchers at war against the signing of a free trade agreement between the European Union and Latin American countries – represent 4% of beef sales and brand pork in France.
A good move. Even the king of communications, Michel-Edouard Leclerc, spokesperson for the E. Leclerc centers, had to act: invited on Sunday, November 24, to the “RTL Grand Jury-The Figaro-M6-Public Senate”, he recalled that if raw materials were not a problem – “99%, [ils] does not sell[ent] No meat from Mercosur » -, on the other hand, “ [leurs] food industry (…) has to [leur] they say on processed products where their products come from ».
Video of the governor of Mato Grosso
But was it really necessary for Carrefour to expose itself in this way, when the group is also a leader in the Brazilian market and generates a quarter of its turnover without taxes in Latin America? The boomerang immediately returned in the form of a call to boycott French stores, launched by the governor of the state of Mato Grosso, a large breeding region in Brazil. “I, as a citizen, will no longer shop in your stores”stated Mauro Mendes, in a video published on Friday on social networks. Carrefour had to clarify that this non-marketing commitment only affected its French establishments.
Since the 18th centurymy century and the first boycott of sugar by the British to fight against slavery, this form of protest was able to demonstrate its effectiveness. When politics gets in the way, citizens vote every day and it can be costly in the long run. Target of a campaign in Morocco in 2018, Danone saw nearly 180 million euros of turnover disappear. In 2023, Bud Light from brewer Anheuser-Bush lost its number one spot in sales in the United States, after a collaboration with a transgender influencer sparked the ire of American conservatives.
In Indonesia or the Middle East, Western brands present in Israel suffer retaliation from consumers that weighs on their sales. Farmer demonstrations in France against boycott threats in Brazil: time will tell if Alexandre Bompard has won.
