Margaux Fodéré 11:37 a.m., February 2, 2024

150 fraud prevention agents mobilized, more than 500 contracts analyzed: Bercy announced Thursday a strengthening of controls on distributors to verify compliance with the Egalim law. The government's objective: to calm the anger of farmers.

They were in the sights of angry farmers, now they are also in the sights of the executive. Distributors are singled out from all sides. They are suspected of not always respecting the Egalim law and of circumventing French law in their plants abroad. This week, on Europe 1 and C News, the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, promised to control them. “I have never had the arm to tremble to protect the smallest producers,” he said. As promised, the government is taking action.

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“Find another scapegoat”

Bercy is preparing to launch controls on all the largest supermarket chains. More than 500 contracts will be checked in great detail, page by page, paragraph by paragraph. To examine these texts, 150 fraud prevention agents are called upon. A reinforced mobilization against distributors which reveals the search for a new culprit. “We can clearly see that there is this tactical game to try to find another scapegoat in this agricultural crisis,” says Rodolphe Bonasse, sector expert.

“For a long time the government, Europe, international agreements were targeted. Now, there is really this desire to try to say: if today you have so many difficulties, it is also the fault of the distributors and industrialists". Sanctions could reach 2% of turnover.

Bruno Le Maire also wants to look at purchasing centers, those located abroad. The government suspects distribution brands of using European super centers to circumvent French law.

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A fine of 6 million euros in 2020 for Eurelec

Farmers also criticize distributors for a lack of transparency on prices. "They (the farmers, editor's note) negotiate with the manufacturer who himself renegotiates with the distributor. And they simply see the final product in the store and they do not know what happened in the negotiations", says his next to Frank Rosenthal, trade marketing expert. “I think that’s part of the problem: there are a lot of things that escape them afterwards.”

Sanctions have already fallen in the past, such as a fine 6 million euros in 2020 for Eurelec, Leclerc's purchasing center based in Brussels. The minister's entourage assures that he will impose sanctions quickly and strongly. “They only understand that,” says an advisor.