According to a press release from the Federation of Associations for the Defense of Consumer Rights in Morocco (FADDCM), Moroccan citizens are called upon to boycott French organizations operating in the Kingdom and in particular the fuel company “Total” operating on national territory.
The action is intended at first glance against the approach adopted by the French consulates against Moroccan citizens, namely the refusal to issue them visas, but not only. The consular approach adopted towards Moroccans according to the FADDCM is intended to be, according to the document, “discriminatory, even racist, excluding and aggressive”, by the French consulates in Morocco. We cannot escape it, it is also said that as far as visas are concerned, the least of the corrections by a country which wants to be the leader of Human Rights is to reimburse the sums which are extracted from them without refunds to their owners, in flagrant violation of all international principles and rights.
That said, the document justifies the position of the FADDCM by indicating that the Moroccan consumer experienced another tragedy in the form of a scam by the French oil company “Total” which sold non-compliant fuel, and this, at the level of the economic capital Casablanca and surroundings, which caused breakdowns to vehicles that had been served by Total service stations, causing them considerable financial losses and damages that the French company refused and refuses to compensate.
In this perspective, the FADDCM points the finger at a France seeking to influence the interests of the Kingdom internally and externally for the benefit of third countries which fight the interests of Morocco. The press release adds that in the face of this illegal, inhuman and contrary practice to recognized diplomatic standards, and the brutal and aggressive persistence of France with the aim of harming the interests of Morocco and Moroccans, the Moroccan Consumer Protection Associations condemn and strongly denounce this irresponsible behavior and call on Moroccan consumers to strengthen their internal front to deal with behavior contrary to their interests and values. The FADDCM calls on French consulates to urgently return the payments for visas that France has refused to their owners, and asks the French State to respect the right of movement guaranteed by international law.
The statement also called on all Moroccan consumers to boycott products from all service stations bearing the “Total” brand and to demand compensation for all those affected for the losses inflicted by these stations. The FADDCM has also renewed its appeal to the Associations for the Defense of Human Rights in Morocco to join their movement to stand up against the “arrogance” of French State officials and to prepare for soon to boycott other French products.
The Moroccan population, both as taxpayers and as a group of consumers, bears more and more badly the financial consequences of the French system designed to be totally unfair and exclusively benefit French investors. Actors like Total who profit from Morocco’s projects generally have a long history of pollution and destruction of ecosystems behind them. The reorientation of part of their investments towards renewables is in reality only another way, often more profitable for them, of generating financial profits and dispossessing local populations.