After the Senate the day before, the National Assembly unanimously approved a series of measures tackling the "structural imbalance" between on the one hand, suppliers, and on the other, large buyers such as Leclerc, Carrefour or Intermarché, whose price war is dragging down margins.

The text, carried by the Renaissance deputy Frédéric Descrozaille, is strongly criticized by the large distribution, which accuses it in particular of limiting their possibilities to offer strong promotions.

The law "goes overall in the right direction", welcomed in the hemicycle the Minister of Agriculture Marc Fesneau, believing that it would allow a "better sharing of value for the benefit of our farmers".

The text aims in particular to dispel the "legal vagueness" existing in the event of failure of the annual commercial negotiation between suppliers and distributors, to fix the prices of the products that fill the shelves.

Currently, if suppliers and distributors do not agree, their contract is not interrupted.

From now on, in the event of failure of the negotiation and on an experimental basis, the supplier will have the choice: interrupt deliveries to stores or apply a "classic" notice of termination, taking into account market conditions, such as inflation.

Minister Marc Fesneau welcomed the "increase in administrative fines" when negotiation deadlines are not respected, "in order to fight against the practices of some distributors tempted to play for time to put pressure on producers".

"Consumer penalized"?

The law also extends until 2025 the experimentation of the framework of the "resale at a loss threshold" for food products.

Fresh fruit and vegetables, initially concerned, were excluded during the examination of the text.

A bill to strengthen producers and industrialists in their relations with large retailers definitively adopted by Parliament © Christophe SIMON / AFP / Archives

Consumer associations called for the suspension of the criticised measure, which expired in April, for all food products. It forces supermarkets to sell food products at least 10% more expensive than the price at which they bought them.

Another point of tension: the capping at 34% of "shock" promotions on non-food products, deemed "irresponsible and inflationary" by the employers' federation of large distribution, the FCD.

"The consumer will once again be penalized: these products (detergent, scouring powder, deodorant, dishwasher tablets, shampoo, combs and other curlers) are among the most expensive in the shopping cart of customers," thundered Tuesday on his blog the president of the strategic committee of Leclerc centers, Michel-Edouard Leclerc.

The latter, "with great publicity, tries to explain to us that he is the anti-inflation gentleman," mocked Modem MP Richard Ramos. But "the price should not be the cheapest but the fairest," he pleaded, believing that the law allowed "our agri-food industry to always be able to produce quality".

The Mayor in support

Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, for his part, said he was in favour of distributors being able to "make promotions not just 34% on shampoos, hygiene products, detergents but up to 50%".

However, MPs and senators maintained the cap they had agreed to, but finally agreed to postpone its entry into force to March 1, 2024.

Another provision decried by major retailers subjects negotiations with European purchasing groups to French regulations, when the products concerned are intended for the French market.

A response to the creation by some distributors of power plants abroad aimed at negotiating, according to MP Descrozaille, with "legal provisions (...) less protective of the interests of French farmers and made in France".

To protect farmers, the text also provides for a "non-negotiability of agricultural raw materials" in private label products.

© 2023 AFP