Gaza Friendly: the French label turning consumer choices into Palestine solidarity

What Happened

Gaza Friendly, a French certification label created in June 2025 by Lyon-based paediatrician Pierre-Amael Noailly Charny and a group of friends, certifies shopkeepers who refuse to sell Coca-Cola Company beverages, PepsiCo beverages, and fresh products imported from Israeli settlements. Its app and website list 80 businesses in France, mainly butchers, restaurants, bakeries, caterers, tea rooms and food distributors, with an interactive map; the app has been downloaded more than 500 times. On 4 September, Aid Boucherie Halal in Creteil was added to the list; its owner Akli said he stopped selling Coca-Cola and Pepsi and reported a slight increase in customer numbers. Online retailer Jebalia, listed since July, claims to have sold 100,000 cans of soda in 2025 and distributes alternative brands such as Pales Drinks, which donates 10 percent of profits to humanitarian actions in Palestine, and Palestine Cola from Safad Food AB in Malmo, Sweden. The label draws on the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement launched in 2005. BDS has stated that Coca-Cola operates a regional distribution centre and refrigerated warehouses in the Atarot settlement in the West Bank, and activists argue PepsiCo's ownership of SodaStream and Sabra amounts to indirect support for the Israeli state. PepsiCo said it does not support Israel politically or militarily; Coca-Cola said it does not endorse any country, government or policy but has not addressed the Atarot facility allegations. Both companies declined to respond to Middle East Eye's request for comment.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The initiative shows how consumer boycotts are being institutionalised in Europe as a form of non-violent pressure linked to the Israel-Palestine conflict, potentially affecting multinational brand perceptions and creating market space for solidarity products. It also surfaces contested allegations about corporate complicity in Israeli settlements, which remain central to BDS campaigns and international legal debates over occupied territories.

Watch For

Monitor whether the certified business list expands beyond 80, whether French authorities or companies respond legally or publicly to the boycott label, and whether alternative brands such as Palestine Cola and Pales Drinks scale distribution. Also watch for any reaction from Coca-Cola or PepsiCo to the Atarot facility allegations and further BDS campaign activity in France.