Geoffrey Branger, edited by Laura Laplaud 2:09 p.m., July 05, 2022

Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of the Economy, wants food promotions to be able to reach up to 50% discount in supermarkets.

A catastrophic proposal for the unions of the National Federation of Farmers' Unions (FNSEA) who are received at the ministry on Tuesday.

The Minister of Economy, Finance and Recovery of France, Bruno Le Maire receives the unions of the National Federation of Farmers' Unions (FNSEA) this Tuesday.

At the heart of the discussions, prices in supermarkets and the remuneration of farmers, in the midst of an inflationary wave.

The "Egalim" law was put in place to improve the remuneration of farmers.

But the producers are worried about the application of this law. 

Respect the "Egalim" and "Egalim 2" laws

Bercy's objective: that producers do not become a price adjustment variable.

The Minister of the Economy first wants to reassure them, he has instructed the General Inspectorate of Finance to verify that the "Egalim" and "Egalim 2" laws are well respected, texts which are supposed to guarantee decent incomes to farmers .

>> Find Europe midi in replay and podcast here

For example, the law requires distributors to pay a minimum of 10% of the margin to producers.

But for Christiane Lambert, the president of the FNSEA, there have been irregularities and she asks that the light be shed.

"600 million euros should have passed through the manufacturers, returned through the pocket of the farmers. So the distributors had to share. However, they did not share", she argues.

50% discounts in supermarkets?

To lower prices on the shelves, large retailers offer to reduce the margins of producers.

An option that Bruno Le Maire has already ruled out.

On the other hand, to help consumers, the government wants to raise the maximum rate of promotions.

Today, they are capped at 34% of the sale price and the minister would like distributors to be able to offer reductions of 50%.

A catastrophic proposal for the farmers' unions who will not fail to tell the Minister of the Economy.

They estimate that neither the distributors nor the manufacturers will cut back on their margins to compensate for these reductions and therefore that this cost will be passed on to the farmers.