Tribune. The boycott of companies is quite naturally associated in people’s minds with social or environmental activism, accusing companies of mistreating or underpaying their employees, of showing racism or of polluting … But in recent years, numerous boycott operations were also inspired by conservative ideologies.
The case currently shaking Brazil bears witness to this. The installation of mixed toilets in some McDonald’s fast food restaurants has sparked a national controversy. “It’s communism! “, accused a client, relayed by thousands of others on social networks. The putting on an equal footing of men and women, heterosexuals and homosexuals, nationals and foreigners, Christians and non-Christians, constitutes for the extreme right-wing so many red rags.
For companies, and in particular multinationals, more used to being questioned about their social and environmental impact, this type of activism constitutes a new challenge. In the United States, this pressure from far-right groups has increased under the Trump era. Already in 2015, the film Star wars vii had suffered a smear campaign by white supremacists, including some supporters of the presidential candidate, because of the presence of a female heroine and a black actor.
The question of food is sensitive
Walgreens hypermarkets, which set up toilets for transgender people a few years later, have also been the target of boycotts and petitions from far-right groups. Business has also emerged in some Central European countries. Thus in Hungary, in 2019, advertisements for Coca-Cola featuring homosexual couples during a music festival, aroused the ire of deputies of the conservative party Fidesz, and an online petition against the firm. American has obtained more than 30,000 signatures, with strong media coverage.
In France itself, Lidl for example, which had modified the initial packaging of Greek yogurts, erasing the Christian cross which was there, for a non-religious image, had, under the pressure of a conservative lobby, to restore the motif of departure. Decathlon, for its part, was forced to give up selling running hijabs, after explicit threats from opponents of the use of these covering sportswear, considered incompatible with the French way of life.
The question of food is particularly sensitive. In France, in the name of tradition, the offer of halal dishes by well-known brands provokes virulent reactions. Brands like Labeyrie and distribution chains like Casino have been singled out for offering halal products to their customers, Labeyrie was even accused in 2006 of “Collaborate with the Islamists”.
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