A movement among French people to boycott brands and products made in the United States has taken hold in the streets of Paris in recent days. This is in protest against Donald Trump’s trade tariffs and anti-European rhetoric, writes The Guardian. A poll, which made the front page of the newspaper Libération last week, found that more than six in 10 French people support boycotting American products and almost one in three are already boycotting them. The hashtag #BoycottUSA has spread on social media networks in what researchers say is a “historic collapse” of the US’s image in France, America’s third-largest European trading partner.
Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Tesla, Starbucks, KFC and X are among the American brands cited as ones to avoid. Those questioned by the pollsters also cited Apple, Microsoft, booking platforms Airbnb and Tripadvisor, Nike and Converse. What French consumers say and what they do are different matters, said François Kraus of pollster Ifop, which conducted the study.
“We are starting to see a sanctioning of the US and its policies in people’s attitudes, but there is a gap between the position that people have in principle and what they do in practice,” Kraus told the Observer. The poll found that left-wing Democratic sympathizers, those over the age of 65 and those with a net income of over €2 a month were most in favor of a boycott.
The poll also found that the French were particularly angry about trade tariffs, Trump’s crackdown on diversity and inclusion, and his treatment of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office. Trump’s threats to raise import taxes on French and European wines and champagne to 200 percent have also dampened enthusiasm for the United States. Support for the boycott appears to transcend social groups typically associated with political activism, the poll found. Kraus noted that the United States’ popularity as a student, vacation and business destination is at its lowest level in 40 years.
