The Emirati group Majid Al Futtaim, historic franchisee of the French distributor Carrefour in the Middle East, announced the cessation of all its operations in Jordan, without specifying the reason. This decision comes in the context of a vast boycott campaign in Jordan against brands considered to be linked to Israelis, such as Carrefour, McDonald’s and Starbucks, since the start of the war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip. over a year ago. “As of November 4, 2024, Carrefour will cease all its activities in Jordan and will no longer operate in the kingdom”indicated the group in a press release published Monday evening on its Facebook account.
Activists in Jordan had called for a boycott of Carrefour in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, after videos were broadcast on social media showing Israeli soldiers carrying food products in bags with the Carrefour logo. Attendance at Carrefour stores in Jordan has decreased significantly since then. Jordan, where around half of the population of 11 million is of Palestinian origin, has seen several boycott campaigns in recent months. The keyword «Boycottons Carrefour» spread across social media, with activists calling on the Majid Al Futtaim company to “cut ties with Carrefour”has “stop using your business name” and to “stop selling French Carrefour products in Jordanian stores”.
Carrefour had assured that the majority of its products came from local suppliers, specifying that the brand was owned by the company Majid Al Futtaim, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. “We are a business of traders, we have no partisan or political commitment”declared in May the CEO of the distributor, Alexandre Bompard. There was “in the very first hours” which followed the Hamas attack on Israeli soil which sparked the war in Gaza on October 7, 2023, “individual initiatives to donate food packages to the Israeli army by working individuals” in Carrefour stores, he said again. “This aid, these donations ended immediately from mid-October. There is no longer the slightest donation, the slightest aid given to the Israeli army.he responded to a shareholder question. The name «Carrefour» was removed from all stores in the kingdom, replaced on Tuesday by «Hypermax»another brand also managed by the Majid Al Futtaim group.
Morocco
