From Electronic Intifada (emphasis mine):
More than 500 people demonstrated in the French city of Avignon on Saturday as part of a extraordinary mobilization against Mehadrin, the major Israeli agricultural export company that operates inside illegal Israeli settlements and is deeply involved in the ongoing colonization of Palestinian land.
At least 350 people then marched the 14 kilometers from Avignon to Mehadrin’s French headquarters in the small town of Chateurenard (video here). As they passed over a major bridge near Avignon, the huge crowd chanted: “Sur le pont d’Avignon, on boycotte, on boycotte! Mehadrin, Mehadrin, on boycotte, on boycotte!” — a play on the famous French nursery ryhme about Avignon.
The march finished with a rally outside Mehadrin’s warehouses where tents bearing the names of Palestinian villages were erected in tribute to Palestinian resistance and an audio recording of a speech by Palestinian Farmers Union executive director Dawood Hamoudeh was played. Dozens of police surrounded Mehadrin’s warehouses to prevent activists from getting too close to them. Activists from more than twelve cities across France joined the mobilization.
Mehadrin is increasingly under fire as the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement works to expose how it operates farms in illegal Israeli settlements using stolen Palestinian water, exploits Palestinian workers and helps tighten Israel’s grip on occupied land. Mehadrin operates the Jaffa brand of fruit and exports its produce to supermarkets throughout Europe.
The march was heralded by activists as a successful first step in pressuring major French supermarkets not to stock Mehadrin goods and to create mass public awareness about the importance of boycotting Israeli products.
The French BDS movement played a leading role in the campaign against Agrexco, a company that used to be Israel’s largest agricultural company before it entered liquidation in 2011.
There is a second part to this article under it, scroll down.
