Barthélémy Philippe, edited by Gauthier Delomez / Photo credits: RICCARDO MILANI / HANS LUCAS / HANS LUCAS VIA AFP 06:18 a.m., January 29, 2024
Commercial negotiations between manufacturers and large retailers end in two days, and it is from these negotiations that prices in supermarkets will result. The government is closely following the discussions, in a context of anger among farmers who are demanding to be able to make a better living from their work.
Reconciling the purchasing power of consumers and a better income for farmers is a headache for the government. Commercial negotiations between manufacturers and mass retailers end in two days, and the executive expects price reductions on the shelves. These negotiations will result in prices in supermarkets from next month.
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If the Egalim law, which Prime Minister Gabriel Attal wants to see "applied everywhere, without exception", prohibits negotiating the cost of agricultural raw materials, i.e. milk, wheat or even meat, the possibilities of circumventing it are however many.
Sanctions against brands that violate the Egalim law
As agroeconomist Marine Raffray explains, nothing prevents distributors, for example, from turning abroad for supplies. "We have provisions of the Egalim law which apply. However, we have import competition which undermines the spirit of this law, which of course does not require operators to obtain supplies from French farmers."
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Two days before the end of the trade negotiations, the Minister of Agriculture Marc Fesneau therefore calls on the brands to play the game. "We need to have operators who are economically responsible and patriotic to French agriculture ", did he declare. And the government is determined to crack down: Gabriel Attal has already announced very heavy sanctions against three companies that violate the Egalim law.