Comprehensive News & Analysis

30-10-2020 | 14:51 PM

France-Turkey Controversy                            

Context: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently urged his countrymen to stop buying French goods in response to what he described as French President Emmanuel Macron's "anti-Islam" agenda.

Background:

• Recently, a school teacher Samuel Paty was killed by an 18-year-old Chechen refugee after former had shown caricatures of Prophet Mohammed to his students.
• Aftermath of incident, Macron spoke of an “Islamist separatism” within the country, and the need to counter it through the rules and values of the Republic, to build a French version of Islam, an “Islam of Enlightenment” that would integrate French Muslim citizens better with the French way of life.

France-Turkey Trade Relations

• The recent boycott call by Turkey is likely to test relations between the two countries, which count each other as major trade partners with a total trade volume of about €14 billion ($16.6 billion) per year.
• Turkey is France's 13th-largest global supplier and the 12th-largest customer, while France is Turkey's sixth-largest customer, receiving 4.3% of its exports.
• Planes, helicopters and automobile spare parts are among the main imports from France to Turkey, while Turkey mainly sells cars and other vehicles to France. French autos are among the highest selling cars in Turkey, which is the eighth-biggest market for Renault.

Boycott Calls by other Countries

The Turkish leader's boycott call followed social media campaigns in other Muslim countries calling on consumers and stores to reject French goods and brands. Several supermarkets in Qatar and Kuwait are already reported to have pulled French goods from their shelves.

Recent Developments

• Greece has launched military exercises with France, Italy, and Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean, amid an escalating conflict with Turkey over natural gas reserves.
• Turkey has long-standing rows with France— over gas reserves off Cyprus, over Nagarno Karabakh region, and over the wars in Libya and Syria.