No, I don’t think we should imagine such a devious project. In Qatar, the agitation against Emmanuel Macron should be seen as an echo of the execrable state of relations between the French president and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Since its Gulf neighbors (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates) put it under a diplomatic and economic embargo, Qatar has placed itself under the protection, if not the tutelage, of Turkey, which has opened a military base. on its territory. Without condoning Mr. Erdogan’s ad hominem attacks against Mr. Macron, Doha is required to show a form of solidarity with its ally in this affair.
There are also local factors. Qatari society is conservative, like all those in the Gulf, it includes an Islamist fringe, of various persuasions, to which the government leaves a certain room for maneuver, in exchange for their legalism. This is also the case in Kuwait, even more so, since this emirate is the most pluralist monarchy in the Gulf. Islamists, especially the local branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, are represented in Parliament and do not hesitate to raise their voices on issues that are close to their hearts.
This is not the case in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, where the Brotherhood of the Muslim Brotherhood is classified as terrorist and where the Islamist current – with the exception of the pietist Salafists who do not meddle in politics – is closely watched. Many of its representatives are currently in prison. If you add to this the fact that Erdogan is the bête noire of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, you understand why we have not seen boycott movements on French products in these two monarchies.