The French authorities told a halal supermarket in the capital Paris to keep its products diversified and include items such as alcohol and pork to serve its non-Muslim customers or else face closure, The Telegraph reported Thursday.

Local authorities told Soulemane Yalcin, the owner of the Good Price mini-market in Colombes, a community located in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, that his store was not following the conditions of its lease.

Yalcin rented his shop from the Colombes housing authority, which stipulated that his business must act as a “general food store” for the benefit of the entire community.

“The mayor of Colombes, Nicole Goueta, went there herself and asked the owner to diversify the range of products by adding alcohol and non-halal meats,” the mayor’s chief of staff, Jerome Besnard, told The Telegraph.

Besnard explained the reasoning when he said: “We want a social mix.”

He added: “We don’t want any area that is only Muslim or any area where there are no Muslims.”

However, Yalcin has his own interpretation of the situation.

“It’s business,” Yalcin told Le Parisien. “I look around me and I target what I see,” he added.

“The lease states ‘general food store and related activities’ – but it all depends on how you interpret ‘related activities’.”

Yalcin’s lease was supposed to end in 2019 but the housing authority took a legal action to end renting him the premise before the agreed timeframe.

Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:49 - GMT 06:49