“Truth below the Pyrenees, error beyond”said Blaise Pascal. This axiom also works with the Atlantic Ocean. By “solidarity with the agricultural world”Alexandre Bompard, CEO of Carrefour, committed on Wednesday November 20 that“no meat from Mercosur” is not sold in its stores. An announcement that is not very restrictive, when these products – real red rags for French breeders at war against the signing of a free trade treaty between the European Union and the countries of Latin America – represent 4% of sales of beef and of pork from the brand in France.
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A nice move. Even the king of communications, Michel-Edouard Leclerc, spokesperson for the E. Leclerc centers, had to take action: guest Sunday, November 24 of the “Grand Jury RTL-Le Figaro-M6-Public Senate”, he recalled that if the raw material was not an issue – “99%, [ils] does not sell[ent] no meat from Mercosur » -, on the other hand, « [leurs] food industry (…) must [leur] say in 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 the leader in the Brazilian market, generating a quarter of its turnover excluding tax in Latin America? The boomerang returned immediately in the form of a call for a boycott of 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 their stores”said Mauro Mendes, in a video posted Friday on social networks. Carrefour had to clarify that this non-marketing commitment only concerned its French stores.
Since the 18th centurye century and the first sugar boycott by the British to fight against slavery, this mode of protest was able to prove its effectiveness. When politics gets in the way, citizens vote every day and, in the long run, it can be costly. Target of a campaign in Morocco in 2018, Danone saw nearly 180 million euros in 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 aroused the ire of American conservatives.
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In Indonesia or the Middle East, Western brands present in Israel suffer retaliation from consumers which weighs on their sales. Farmers' demonstrations in France against boycott threats in Brazil: time will tell if Alexandre Bompard has won.
