France: large retailers sound the alarm over the price of electricity
Audio 01:18
Inside a French supermarket chain.
(Drawing).
Benoit Tessier / Reuters
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Bills are exploding for food professionals.
In particular, they are asking for regulation of the electricity market and a price cap before the Energy Defense Council organized this Friday, September 2 at the Elysée Palace and devoted to the supply of electricity and gas.
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He wanders worriedly through the shelves.
Thierry Cotillard is both director of two supermarkets and president of Perifem, a federation bringing together all of the distribution players.
The bills are already high and he fears even more those of next year.
“
Where we paid 100,000 euros for this store which is 1,000 square meters, it will cost us 200,000 euros.
This is unheard of.
At some point, there are stores that do not make 5,000 euros in results, so they will go into the red.
It's that simple.
»
To save money, an energy sobriety protocol will begin in October;
reduced lighting, drop in temperature by one degree and showcase turned off at night.
“
Do not waste energy unnecessarily
”
“
For all the signs of large distribution and small trade, at 10 p.m. or 11 p.m., the illuminated sign is turned off,
maintains Thierry Cotillard
.
We are going to consume less and above all, we are going to give the image that we are responsible and that we are not going to waste energy unnecessarily.
»
These new practices would reduce electricity consumption by 6%.
But large retailers, like the food industry, are asking the State for a regulated emergency tariff for this winter.
“
When we observe speculation in France versus our European neighbors, we realize that when you pay 1000 euros in France, it is 500 euros in Belgium.
There, in any case, we would like there to be no super-profits
”.
No super-profits and lower prices.
Otherwise, in the end, “
it will be up to the consumer to pay
” warn professionals in the sector, now under pressure.
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