On Saturday August 30, 2025, a demonstration took place in front of the Carrefour de la Marsa hypermarket. Several videos broadcast on social networks show demonstrators brandishing Palestinian flags and calling for the brand’s boycott, accused of “complicity” with Israel.
What happened
The images circulating online report clashes at the entrance to the store. Carrefour security and employees have appeared to intervene in a muscular way, some even using chairs to push the demonstrators. The injured were reported among the protesters.
This mobilization is not the first of its kind: other pro-Palestinian sit-in had already taken place in front of Carrefour stores in Tunisia. But according to several testimonies collected online, the demonstration of the Marsa appears more aggressive and was postponed with more firmness by the security agents of the brand.
Many Internet users say in their comments that they now want to boycott Carrefour in reaction to what they consider as an attack on the peaceful character of previous sit-in. A Facebook page has even been launched to call the brand’s boycott.
Reactions and context
The event relaunches the debate on the links of the Carrefour group with Israel.
- In Tunisia, the brand is operated by Ulysse Hyper Distribution (UHD), a subsidiary of the Utic group, which claims to manage its activities independently, with more than 5,000 employees.
- Internationally, the French group Carrefour concluded in 2022 a franchise agreement with Electra Consumer Products and its subsidiary Yenot Bitan to set up in Israel. In 2024, the brand withdrew its brand products from stores located in the colonies, while maintaining its partnerships in the country.
A reputation crisis difficult to contain
Stuck between its membership of a global network and its desire to reassure Tunisian consumers, Carrefour Tunisia is at the heart of a controversy that goes beyond the simple commercial setting. The management of this reputation crisis could become a decisive test for the brand, torn between the realities of a sensitive Tunisian market and the imperatives of a multinational group exposed to political and economic pressures.
