France strongly rejects boycott campaigns against Israel

French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, said on Friday that his country is firmly opposed to any boycott of Israel, Quds Press reported.

Fabius made the remark while commenting on a previous disclosure by Stephane Richard, CEO of the French communications company, Orange, who said that that he was contemplating a boycott its Israeli counterpart, Partner.

Although the French government owns about a quarter of the shares in Orange, Fabius said it was up to the president of Orange group to determine its commercial policies. He pointed out however that France is firmly opposed to a boycott of Israel.

He added: “France and the European Union have a consistent policy on settlement-building that is known to all.” The EU considers settlements built in the Palestinian territories illegal.

On his part the Orange CEO told the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth that the international campaign to boycott Israel had played no role in his company’s decisions.

“This has nothing to do with Israel, we love Israel, we are in Israel, in the enterprise market, we invest money in innovation in Israel, we are a friend of Israel,” he said, “so this has absolutely nothing to do with any kind of political debate, in which I do not want to be.”

He stressed that the decision was a purely commercial point regarding the use of Orange brand by the company, Partner Communications, under a license agreement. “I was not aware there is a kind of international campaign regarding this,” he said, “I am very sorry about that.”