The first French supermarket has labeled Israeli products as “Made in Israeli Settlements.” This comes after the French Government instituted a policy of labeling Israeli produce grown in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights as “settlement products” two months ago
The signs were first seen at the Auchan supermarket chain in the Kremlin Bicetre suburb of Paris.
The incident is known to the Israeli Embassy in France, who then turned to French Jewish organizations to ask the chain to take down the offending signs.
The manager of the supermarket said that it was a localized initiative to put up the sign, and that he had nothing to do with it. Nevertheless, he replaced the sign the next day to a sign which simply read “Israel.”
Israel claims that this is the French government’s “revenge” for Israel refusing to attend the upcoming Paris Peace Conference on January 15.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry sent a harsh response to the event, saying they “condemn the French government’s decision to implement the EU Commission guidelines regarding marking Israeli products originating from beyond the 1967 lines. We are sad that it was France who came up with an anti-boycott law, and is now taking these steps which might boost anti-Israel radical elements.”
“Moreover,” the letter continued, “it’s puzzling that France is adopting such a double standard in regards to Israel, especially when there are over 200 territorial conflicts around the world – including in France.”
However, Embassy officials said that this seems to be the initiative of a pro-Palestinian employee of the supermarket, and that the store is in a low socio-economic, immigrant area.