PARIS, 21 December 2002 — Mohammed Djaziri, the owner of a French halal grocery store located in the Paris suburb of Evry, says that he’d rather shut down than be forced to sell alcohol and pork products. Indeed, Djaziri who owns the store jointly with his brother, says he’s already put his establishment up for sale and is already talking with potential buyers.
Only last week, Djaziri, who recently acquired the small supermarket located in the Quartier des Pyramids of Evry — a neighborhood largely inhabited by Muslims — was criticized by Mayor Manuel Valls, a former communications adviser to Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, for having decided to no longer carry alcohol and pork products in his establishment, which is part of the Franprix chain of grocery stores.
Officials at Franprix have in turn demanded that if Djaziri wants to continue operating under the Franprix brand he will have to carry all of the products offered nationally by the chain, no more, no less.
Djaziri says his decision to sell was also taken as a result of the “harassment” he says he is being increasingly subjected to by health authorities, sent there by Mayor Valls, who only two days ago went through his store and summoned him to throw out a good deal of the goods on his shelves. “Look,” he tells a visiting journalist, “the label on this bottle of milk says it’s good until Dec. 27, whereas the health inspectors claim the product is no longer good and can’t be sold.”
Only last week Valls was condemned by the Comite francais de l’alimentation ethnique (CFAE) — the organization made up of representatives of the Islamic and Jewish communities that protects the rights of faithful to have access to halal and kosher foodstuffs — for having taken a position which seemed in their eyes to be highly insensitive to Muslims who inhabit his city.
