FRANKFURT, Germany April 1 —
Some European restaurants are halting sales of Coca-Cola,
Marlboro cigarettes and other U.S. brands in boycotts spurred by
anti-war sentiment.
In the northern port city of Hamburg, 10 owners of French
restaurants decided last week to strike spirits, tobacco and other
goods with U.S. brand names from their menus.
Jean-Yves Mabileau from L'Auberge Francaise said he was happy to
take part in the action, partly out of retaliation against the
boycott of French products in the United States and partly to
protest the war.
He threatened to take things a step further if the war did not
end soon.
"If the Americans won't calm down, I'll start refusing to accept
American Express and other U.S. credit cards," said Mabileau, adding
he didn't think the move would hurt business.
The movement is not confined to Germany. Several Web sites call
for Europeans to stop consuming leading U.S. products and other
countries have seen similar calls to reject of American goods.
Greek filmmakers, including award-winning director Theo
Angelopoulos, have called for a boycott of U.S. movies to protest
the war in Iraq.
In the southeastern French city of Bayonne, the staff of a bar
run by anti-militarists dumped their Coca-Cola stocks into the
sewers.
The head of a leading German-American trade association warned
that such efforts to punish the United States could backfire,
hurting the local economy far more than U.S. multinationals.
"The Coca-Cola drunk in Germany is manufactured in Germany with
German employees and they only hurt themselves," said Fred Irwin,
head of the Frankfurt-based American Chamber of Commerce.
The sentiment was echoed by Ricarda Ruecker, a spokeswoman for
McDonald's Germany, who said the company has seen no decline in its
sales. She added that the company has worked hard to put across the
message that it was German.
"The name doesn't really tell you anything," Ruecker said. "A
boycott in Germany would only damage the economy here."
Stefan Bielmeier, an economist and trade specialist at Deutsche
Bank, said such boycotts wouldn't have much impact: "I expect no
visible effects here."
Recent polls have shown that more than 80 percent of Germans are
against the war in Iraq and fully stand behind Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder's tough stance against President Bush's war in Iraq.
While many of the actions are aimed at galvanizing larger
boycotts of U.S. companies, others, like a doctor in the northern
German town of Rendsburg, are making more personal anti-war
statements.
A sign on the door to 61-year-old Eberhard Hoffmann's dermatology
practice warns anyone from countries belonging to the U.S.-led
alliance against seeking treatment from him.
"I forbid Americans and Britons, as well as anyone else who
supports the war to enter my practice," he said. "The war in Iraq is
a crime."
Hoffmann acknowledged he has no U.S. or British patients and said
the action was largely symbolic.
photo credit
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