Carrefour

Carrefour SA is a French multinational retail corporation. The BDS Movement launched an official boycott campaign against Carrefour on December 12, 2022, demanding the company end its franchise agreement with Israeli companies operating in illegal West Bank settlements and stop selling settlement products globally. The campaign has resulted in complete market withdrawals from Jordan and Oman, with the company suffering a decline in Middle East retail profits, profit plunged from €1.66 billion to €723 a decline of ~€937 million in net profit year-over-year.

Settlement operations fund illegal occupation

Carrefour entered a 20-year franchise agreement with Electra Consumer Products and its subsidiary Yenot Bitan in March 2022, granting exclusive rights to operate the Carrefour brand across Israel. The deal was extended for an additional seven years in February 2024. Under this partnership, dozens of former Yenot Bitan supermarket locations have been rebranded as Carrefour branches, reaching nearly 100 locations by mid-2024. Yenot Bitan stores can also be found in illegal West Bank settlements of Ariel, Alfei Menashe, and Ma'ale Adumim, as well as a Carrefour branded store in occupied East Jerusalem's Neve Ya'akov settlement neighborhood.

This expansion directly violates International Court of Justice rulings on illegal occupation. Electra Consumer Products is majority-owned by Elco Ltd., which appears in the UN database of businesses involved in Israel's illegal settlement enterprise. Through subsidiary brands including Mehadrin Market, the network extends operations to additional settlements in Beit El and Modi'in Illit.

Carrefour Israel has provided support to Israeli military personnel during the 2023-2024 Gaza operations, offering "gifts of personal packages" to occupation soldiers and launching fundraising campaigns "for our brave soldiers" in October 2023. The company also maintains contracts with COGAT, the Israeli military coordination unit in the occupied territories and Gaza, worth NIS 43,315 in 2024.

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In 2022, Carrefour invited war criminal Netanyahu to celebrate the opening 50 branches in Israel

Carrefour opened tens of branches to serve customers in apartheid Israel

Labor exploitation spans multiple continents

Saudi Arabia

A 2024 Amnesty International investigation revealed systematic exploitation of migrant workers at Carrefour facilities in Saudi Arabia operated by franchise partner Majid Al Futtaim. Seventeen workers from Nepal, India, and Pakistan faced forced labor conditions between 2021-2024, working 60-hour weeks with shifts up to 16 hours daily during peak periods, they were cheated out of their earnings, lied to by recruitment agencies, and denied days off.

Workers paid recruitment agents an average of $1,200 in illegal fees despite Saudi law prohibiting such charges, then endured threats of job termination for complaints while walking over 20 kilometers daily in warehouse operations. Housing conditions were described as "like a cowshed" with 6-8 people crammed per room. The company launched an internal investigation only after Amnesty's alert but has not compensated affected workers.

Thailand

According to a 2014 Guardian investigation, Carrefour sourced prawns from CP Foods, which purchased fishmeal from suppliers operating fishing vessels with slave labor. Trafficked workers from Myanmar and Cambodia faced 20-hour shifts, regular beatings, torture, and execution-style killings aboard boats supplying Carrefour's seafood products. Following the exposé, Carrefour suspended purchases from CP Foods.

China

China Labor Watch documented extensive violations at Carrefour toy suppliers in 2010, including child labor using fraudulent ID cards, workers had to 11-12 hour daily shifts with only two days off monthly, and overtime pay as low as $0.29 per hour. Workers faced illegal resignation restrictions and 50% salary deductions for unauthorized departures.

Brazil

In Brazil, a 40-year-old Black man, was beaten to death by security guards at a Porto Alegre Carrefour store on November 19, 2020. One guard kneeled on his back for four minutes while another beat him. Earlier that year, the company covered up the death of an employee, keeping the business open for hours with his body covered by umbrellas and cardboard on the sales floor.

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