PARIS (Reuters) – French companies including carmaker Renault and retailer Auchan must leave the Russian market, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told French lawmakers on Wednesday.
“Renault, Auchan, Leroy Merlin must stop being sponsors of the Russian war machine, stop financing the murder of children and women, of rape,” he said. “French companies must leave the Russian market.”
Renault was not immediately available for comment. It said earlier on Wednesday that it was considering again suspending production by its Moscow plant because of logistics issues.
Privately owned retailer Auchan declined to comment. Last week a spokesperson said earlier criticism by Zelenskiy over the group’s continued presence in Russia was “extremely surprising”.
Leroy Merlin, which belongs to the same group as Auchan, also declined to comment.
French companies that have come under hefty criticism for still operating in Russia also include energy giant Total and food group Danone. Zelenskiy did not name them but asked French firms in general to leave Russia.
Seated at a desk in his trademark khaki T-shirt, Zelenskiy received a standing ovation from French lawmakers. At his request they observed a minute of silence in tribute to the victims of the war.
Moscow calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” to disarm and “denazify” Ukraine. Ukraine and Western allies call this a baseless pretext for a war of choice that has raised fears of wider conflict in Europe.
(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel, Makini Bricel, Jean-Stephane Brosse, Elizabeth Pineau, Geert De Clercq; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
