Qatar serves Erdogan by boycotting France, exploiting Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

Aya Ezz

In unsurprising ambivalence, Qatar is launching a systematic campaign to boycott French products, at a time when Doha has not withdrawn Qatari investments from the European country.

Qatari regime officials have launched a massive Twitter campaign against France to boycott French products as a kind of war against Paris after the crisis that stemmed from publishing offensive images against the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). However, at the same time, Doha has completely forgotten that it is one of the top five foreign countries investing money in French territory. According to AFP, Doha has not closed or withdrawn from one of the largest and most famous French clubs, Paris Saint Germain, which is owned by Qatari Nasser Al-Khulaifi, a friend of Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad.

Investments totaling $40 billion

The French newspaper Telegram revealed that the huge Qatari investments in Paris are concentrated in sports clubs, nightclubs, real estate and industry.

Qatar is one of the first Arab countries to invest in France 11 years ago, specifically since the reign of former presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande.

Qatari investments in France have reached more than $40 billion, increasing in 2017 alone by about 30%, as the two countries have signed multiple agreements in recent years, including agreements worth €12 billion during President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Doha in December 2017. These included contracts that the two countries signed to operate and maintain the Doha Metro project and the Lusail tram project for the next 20 years, as the contract was signed with the French RTP and SNCF, the two leading French companies in the field of global transportation.

This is in addition to the strategic energy projects between Qatar Petroleum and France’s Total, most of which extend for 25 years, according to the French newspaper.

Bogus campaign

Mohammed Hussein, a specialist in international relations affairs, said that Qatar’s campaign against France is bogus and deceptive, and it serves Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following the success of a campaign to boycott Turkish products. However, Qatar cannot truly boycott French products, because it has trade and investment relations with France worth billions of dollars.