Romain Rouillard 16:06 pm, March 15, 2023

Guest of "La France bouge" this Wednesday, Vincent Doumerc, the general manager of Franprix stores, announced exclusively on Europe 1 a price freeze on "a list of 60 products" from Wednesday, March 15. An initiative that comes on the first day of the "anti-inflation quarter", decided by the government in early March.

Intended to preserve the purchasing power of the French in the face of soaring prices on the shelves, the "anti-inflation quarter" officially begins this Wednesday. Outlined by the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, at the beginning of the month, the device intends to offer consumers a list of everyday products sold at prices "as low as possible". It is then up to distributors to select the items that will benefit. Most brands joined the initiative, while others - like Système U - preferred to take the lead, offering reduced prices on a range of products from February.

It is therefore in this context that Vincent Doumerc, CEO of Franprix, announced exclusively in La France bouge on Europe 1 the price freeze on "a list of 60 products" in all the stores of the brand. These items will be offered "at unbeatable prices" and will be "locked for three months". And Vincent Doumerc to specify at the microphone of Elisabeth Assayag the content of the device: "When I say unbeatable, it means that we will be cheaper than the cheapest distributor in France that I will not mention (Leclerc, Editor's note)," he says.

"A kilo of pasta for 1.20 euro"

A list developed "with attention" so that "each consumer can compose his weekly basket". The manager of the Franprix stores insists on the heterogeneity of the products offered. "There are products for breakfast, products for meals, fresh and balanced products. We covered the whole spectrum of consumption," he promises.

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At the microphone of Europe 1, Vincent Doumerc then gives several concrete examples. "This will allow us to offer one kilo of pasta for 1.20 euros. Or to make a quiche for six people with less than 1 euro per person. It is concrete. We wanted to do something quite simple," he explains.

Blocked prices that are also found in most supermarkets in France, with the notable exception of Leclerc stores. Their president, Michel-Édouard Leclerc, was also absent from the press conference given by Bruno Le Maire two weeks ago, and had declared on BFMTV, on March 5, that his group "did not need" this type of operation. "I didn't wait for a public meeting to be cheaper," he said.