Zelensky asks French retail chain Auchan not to continue its operations in Russia

PARIS, 27 March. The French retail chain Auchan will continue its operations in Russia because the company operates in the interests of the civilian population, Auchan CEO Yves Claude said in an interview with the French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche. Claude's comments come in the wake of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's calls for French companies to exit the Russian market.

„It's useless to pit people against each other,“ Claude said. „The most important thing for us is to keep our employees and ensure our primary mission, which is to continue to feed the population in these two countries. We've never had any other goal.“ „I'm prepared to assume public opinion disagrees with us,“ he continued. „It's easy to criticize us, but we are there, facing and acting on behalf of the civilian population.“ „We bake fresh bread in our shops every day for Ukrainians and Russians, which is vital at the moment.“ „In Russia, where the brand has been operating for 20 years, we employ almost 30,000 people,“ he continued. „We operate as a discount retailer and we think we can help protect the purchasing power of the population at a time of high inflation.“ „If Auchan leaves, we will put 30,000 people out of work, 40 of whom are % employees and shareholders,“ Claude added.

On 23 March, Ukrainian President Zelensky said in a video message to the French Parliament that French companies operating in Russia should stop their activities because of the Russian special operation in Ukraine. On 24 February, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that, in response to a request from the heads of the Donbas republics, he had decided to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine to protect the people „who have been suffering abuses and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years“.“

The Russian official stressed that Moscow has no plans to occupy Ukrainian territories and that the aim of the operation is to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine. Clarifying the developments, the Russian Ministry of Defense assured that Russian soldiers are not attacking Ukrainian cities, but are limited to surgical strikes and defusing Ukrainian military infrastructure. There is no threat to the civilian population.

TASS/gnews.cz