French boycott 'may cost UK firms millions'

Britain could lose millions of pounds worth of business in France because of a possible consumer boycott prompted by the Iraq war, according to a poll.

The survey suggests more than one in 10 French consumers are less likely to buy British as a result of Tony Blair's hardline stance.

Only 1 in 100 French people are more likely to buy British because of the war, according to the poll by PR company Weber Shandwick - which also revealed anti-British sentiment in Germany.

The survey found 10% of German consumers said they were less likely to buy British - although this was balanced by 7% who said they were more likely.

According to government figures, the UK exported goods worth just over £18bn (€26bn) to France and over £21bn (€30bn) to Germany in 2002.

US companies could be hit even harder than those from the UK the survey, conducted between April 11 and April 13, indicates.

It found 17% of French people said they were less likely to buy American, balanced by 4% who said they were more likely. Interviews with British consumers found 11% claiming to be less likely to buy American, compared with 4% claiming to be more likely.

In Germany, 13% said they were less likely to buy American, against 9% who said they were more likely.

Colin Byrne, joint chief executive of Weber Shandwick in the UK, said: "In France and Germany, it may well be that the anti-war stance of political leaders and mainstream media has filtered down to consumers.

"British opinion is less hostile to the war, but what's striking is that in general terms British consumers seem to have become politicised. Of the three countries we examined, the British are far more likely to consider leveraging their purchasing power to make a point about an issue that concerns them."