While farmers continue their mobilization, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced a strengthening of the Egalim law. Massive checks on manufacturers and distributors will also take place, said the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire.
“We are going to strengthen the Egalim law” to protect farmers’ remuneration, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced Thursday after ten days of farmers’ protest movement, and massive checks on manufacturers and distributors will take place, the minister said. of Economy Bruno Le Maire. “Farmers’ income should not be the adjustment variable for commercial negotiations between manufacturers and distributors,” added the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, also present in front of the press, announcing an “evaluation mission ” of the Egalim law.
This mission, which will involve “all stakeholders”, will result in a report which will be submitted “by spring” and should “open the way to an improvement and strengthening of the Egalim law”, specified the minister. . The first two laws known as Egalim 1 and 2, adopted in 2018 and 2021, already aimed to prevent producers from bearing the brunt of the fierce price war between supermarkets on the one hand, and distributors and suppliers of the agro-industry on the other hand.
“10,000 checks on the French origin of products”
In this context, Bruno Le Maire also announced massive controls “in the coming days” on manufacturers and supermarkets, which will notably concern “all the largest chains” of supermarkets. No contract between distributors and manufacturers, including distributor brands, “will escape the control of the repression of fraud”, declared the minister.
Furthermore, he announced “10,000 checks on the French origin of products” with sanctions which could “reach 10% of the turnover of manufacturers or distributors who have committed fraud”. “An agricultural product stamped as of French origin by its labeling must really be of French origin,” insisted Bruno Le Maire.