French president Sarkozy’s decision to boycott the opening of the Olympic Games is creating public relations issues for French brands. First, a blog scuffle broke out between Chinese nationalists which accused French supermarket chain Carrefour of supporting pro-Tibet independence groups, and which called for a boycott of French products. And now the luxury industry has reacted.

With China as a booming market for luxury goods, perhaps it’s no surprise that Bernard Arnault has taken the swift initiative to deny that LVMH has any pro-Tibet affiliation.

Arnault denied claims that have appeared on Chinese blogs. He said that LVMH has no any political or religious affiliation ‘whatsoever’ and it is not giving financial support to Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. — (Via Reuters)