A bill aimed at strengthening producers and industrialists in their relations with large retailers definitively adopted by Parliament (AFP/Archives/PHILIPPE HUGUEN)
A bill aimed at strengthening producers and manufacturers in their tense relations with mass distribution was definitively adopted on Wednesday by Parliament, to the chagrin of brands that ensure that consumers will suffer.
After the Senate the day before, the National Assembly unanimously validated 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 pulling margins down.
The text, carried by the deputy Renaissance Frédéric Descrozaille, is strongly criticized by the large distribution, which accuses him in particular of limiting their possibilities of proposing strong promotions.
The law “is generally going in the right direction”, greeted the Minister of Agriculture Marc Fesneau in the hemicycle, believing that it would allow a “better sharing of value for the benefit of our farmers”.
The text aims in particular to dissipate 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 which fill the shelves.
Currently, if suppliers and distributors do not agree, their contract is not interrupted.
A favorable situation for supermarkets, which can continue for several months to order products at the old price, even though the supplier may be faced with an increase in its production costs.
From now on, in the event of failure of the negotiation and on an experimental basis, the supplier will have the choice: to interrupt deliveries to the stores or to apply a “classic” notice of rupture, taking into account market conditions, such as inflation.
Minister Marc Fesneau welcomed the “raising of administrative fines” when negotiation deadlines are not respected, “in order to fight against the practices of certain distributors tempted to play for time to put pressure on producers”.
– “Consumer penalized”? –
The law also extends until 2025 the experiment of the supervision of the “threshold of resale at a loss” for food products.
A bill aimed at strengthening producers and industrialists in their relations with large retailers definitively adopted by Parliament (AFP/Archives/Christophe SIMON)
Fresh fruits and vegetables, initially concerned, were excluded as the text was examined.
Consumer associations demanded the suspension for all food products of this criticized measure, which expired in April. It obliges supermarkets to sell food products at least 10% more expensive than the price at which they bought them.
Another point of tension: the 34% cap on “shock” promotions on non-food products, deemed “irresponsible and inflationary” by the employers’ federation of large retailers, 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 customers’ shopping carts”, had thundered Tuesday on his blog the president of the strategic committee of the Leclerc centers, Michel-Edouard Leclerc.
The latter, “with great publicity stunts, tries to explain to us that he is the anti-inflation Mr.”, mocked the Modem deputy 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 be able to always produce quality”.
– The Mayor in support –
The Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire for his part said he was in favor of distributors being able to “make promotions not just at 34% on shampoos, hygiene products, detergents but up to 50% %”.
Deputies and senators, however, maintained the cap they had agreed to, but finally agreed to postpone its entry into force until March 1, 2024.
Another provision decried by the major brands submits negotiations with European purchasing centers to French regulations, when the products concerned are intended for the French market.
A response to the creation by certain distributors of power stations abroad aimed at negotiating, according to the deputy Descrozaille, with “legal provisions (…) less protective of the interests of French farmers and of products made in France”.
To protect farmers, the text also provides for “non-negotiability of agricultural raw materials” in products sold under private label.
© 2023 AFP
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