Call for general strike on anniversary of campaign to boycott French products
PARIS, Oct. 30 (YPA) – Activists in France have called for a general strike on the first anniversary of the launch of the campaign to boycott French products, which began after the re-publishing of Caricatures of the Prophet “Muhammad”, peace be upon him.
Head and founder of the charitable ‘Baraka City’ organization, Idriss El Si Hamdi, stated that the French authorities are currently carrying out a campaign of restrictions against Muslims in the country, including closing mosques for illogical reasons and depriving many poor people of humanitarian aid funds.
Through his own account on Twitter, El-Si Hamdi said: “Let us punish those who reject Islam with a general strike and stop eating like sheep at home.”
Activists interacted with this call by tweeting with the hashtag #Boycott_French_Products365, praising what they considered the gains achieved by the campaign during one year at a time when many bet on its failure.
In October of the last year, France witnessed the publication of pictures and cartoons insulting the Prophet, “Muhammad”, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, on the facades of government buildings, and a number of French official figures, including President Macron, supported the caricatures, which sparked widespread Arab and Islamic anger.
As a result, online campaigns were launched to boycott French products and goods, calls that met with an unprecedented response. Attitudes from the popular level escalated to official condemnations issued by some countries.
The boycott campaigns imposed a difficult reality on France’s economy, and the “Reuters” agency said in a previous report that Paris’ economic interests were “at stake” after the escalation of calls in the Islamic world to boycott its products.
The French economy recorded a major recession in 2020 due to the “Corona” pandemic, and expectations are increasing for the worse in light of the escalation of the epidemiological situation and the continued calls for a boycott.
Meanwhile, President Emmanuel Macron’s government is facing accusations of restricting Islam and Muslims through the controversial “anti-separatist law”, in addition to closing mosques and Islamic associations under the pretext of combating “political Islam”.
YPA