A fire that the government said was arson caused minor damage to property at a brewery owned by French liquor giant Castel in the Central African Republic on Monday.
In the middle of the night, arsonists set fire to facilities at the heart of the MOCAF (short for Motte Cordonnier Afrique) brewery.
“It was arson, so the government must launch an investigation today to find the source,” Communications Minister and government spokesman Serge Ghislain Djouri told AFP by phone.
The French ambassador Jean-Marc Grosgurin immediately released a statement against the attack and “expressed his solidarity with the staff and management,” the diplomatic mission noted on its Facebook page.
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The diplomat thanked the rescue workers, “who have significantly reduced the damage to property,” the embassy said.
Neither the government nor the French Embassy nor the Ministry of Trade and Industry provided details of the attack. Journalists were not allowed to enter the site on Monday.
The Castel group, the embassy, NGOs and other French companies are the target of smear campaigns and even threats from influential groups.
Castel acquired MOCAF in 1993, which had been present in the Central African Republic since 1953. This subsidiary is one of the largest producers and employers in the country.
According to the United Nations, the Central African Republic is the second least developed country in the world.
