Ukraine called for boycott of French companies that continue to do business in Russia

The Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, asked this Sunday to boycott the stores of the Auchan group, to which the Alcampo supermarkets belong, after the French group reported that it would continue its activities in Russia.

“Apparently, job losses in Russia are more significant than deaths in Ukraine,” Kuleba reported on Twitter.

“If Auchan ignores the 139 Ukrainian children killed during this month of Russian invasion, let us ignore Auchan and all its products,” he continued.

Kuleba also called for “boycotting” the stores of Auchan, Leroy-Merlin (building materials) and Decathlon (sports products), all belonging to the Mulliez family group.

In Spain, Auchan Retail supermarkets operate under the Alcampo brand.

This Sunday, in an interview with the French weekly Journal du Dimanche, the managing director of Auchan Retail International, Yves Claude, justified his decision to remain in Russia. “Leaving would be imaginable from an economic point of view, but not from a human point of view,” he said, recalling that the group has been present in Russia for about twenty years and employs 30,000 people there.

In addition, he said that Auchan obtains 10% of its global sales in Russia. “We have a position as a discount trade and we plan to contribute in times of high inflation to protecting the purchasing power of the Russian inhabitants,” Claude added. “It's easy to criticize ourselves, but we are there, we stand up and act for the civilian population,” in response to critics calling them out of Russia, he said.

Like other groups, Claude recalled that a way out exposes its local leaders to persecution. “I question myself every day, because the decision is not easy to make, but I am convinced that it is the right thing to do. I feel supported by my shareholders, my employees and our social partners,” he said.

In Ukraine, where Auchan operates 43 stores with 6,000 employees, conditions are “extreme” and there is a shortage of fresh produce because 90% of them come from the interior of the country, he said. A hundred Ukrainian employees were received by their colleagues abroad and will be hired by the group elsewhere, the president added.

A few days ago, President Zelensky had already targeted the group during his speech before the French Parliament.

More than 300 multinationals have already left Russia

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, hundreds of companies have announced that they were abandoning their operations in the country presided over by Vladimir Putin.

Apple ceased operations in Russia and suspended all sales of its products since March 1. Another tech giant that joined the boycott against the Russian government is Microsoft, the company founded by Bill Gates reported that it will remove Russian state media applications from its Windows app store and will not publish ads on the Kremlin's state-owned media websites.

In the universe of social networks, there were also central protagonists who decided to leave the country. YouTube, like Google, prevented Russian media, such as the international channel RT, from earning revenue from displaying ads on its website, apps and videos.

On the other hand, Meta confirmed that it will restrict on its social networks, which include Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp, access to the said news channel and the Sputnik agency, media affiliated with the Putin government.

Twitter also decided to temporarily suspend ads in Ukraine and Russia to minimize the “risks associated with the conflict” in the country that is being invaded. The company explained that they also paused these announcements “to ensure that critical public safety information is high and the ads do not detract from it.”

Financial companies such as Visa and MasterCard also decided to join the boycott, blocking a number of Russian financial institutions from their payment networks to comply with international sanctions imposed on Russia.

They are also part of the extensive list Coca Cola, Disney, DHL, DirecTV, H&M, IBM, Ikea, LVMH, Samsung, Unilever and Roll Royce; and entities such as FIFA, international boxing, athletics, cycling, hockey, tennis, rugby and the Olympic Committee. Those who did not leave are also mentioned: for example, Cargill, Hilton, Hyatt, Mars and Phillips Morris, among others.

KEEP READING: