DEVA leader finds Erdoğan's boycott call 'childish,' says French firms creating jobs for Turks

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Ali Babacan, Turkey's former deputy prime minister and founder of the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA), has said that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's call for a boycott of French goods is not realistic as none of the goods produced within the global economy just belongs to a single country.

He referred to the boycott call as "childish" and as a "propaganda." "This will occupy the agenda for 48 hours and then everyone will forget it," he said during a program aired on Karar TV on Oct. 26.

Erdoğan calls on Turks to boycott French goods following war of words with Macron

"There are products carrying French brands that are produced in Turkey. They are produced here but their brand is French. What are we going to do, boycott those too? Our citizens work there. Believe me, in a globalized world these are just childish things,” he said.

“There are inputs from several countries in a single product. Let's day, one day, relations with Japan have gone sour and we called for a boycott of its products. One of the largest factories of a Japanese automaker is situated in Turkey. This is a very important local contribution. What are you going to do about that then? Whatever the product is, it is important that it creates a local added value,” Babacan said.

France is the 10th biggest source of imports into Turkey and the seventh biggest market for Turkey’s exports, according to Turkey’s statistical institute. Among major French imports, French autos are among the highest selling cars in Turkey.

One important French auto manufacturer in Turkey is Renault, which employees thousands of people. Another major French company is the supermarket chain Carrefour, whose subsidiary runs hundreds of stores in Turkey.

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Erdoğan called on Oct. 26 for Turks to boycott French goods and urged European Union leaders to halt French leader Emmanuel Macron’s “anti-Islam” agenda.

For a third day running Erdoğan said that the French president needed a mental health check, repeating a rebuke that caused France to recall its ambassador from Ankara over the weekend, as he appealed to Turks to shun French products.

“Just like they say ‘Don’t buy good with Turkish brands’ in France, I am calling to all my citizens from here to never help French brands or buy them,” Erdoğan said.

Turkey and France are both members of the NATO military alliance, but have been at odds over issues including Syria and Libya, maritime jurisdiction in the eastern Mediterranean, and the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.