This work will make it possible to “see if there are unacceptable margins” and, possibly, to sanction the “profiteers of the inflationary crisis”, according to Bruno Le Maire.
After the Senate, Bercy’s turn to take a closer look at price increases on the shelves. Monday, July 4, on France Inter, the Minister of Economy and Finance announced the launch of controls, “sector by sector“, in order to ensure that the increases recorded in the distribution for a few months are quite legitimate.
Read alsoFrom food to transport, how inflation weighs on the purchasing power of the French on a daily basis
“On food, we have already undertaken, with the DGCCRF, a thousand checks on a certain number of products“, detailed Bruno Le Maire. Conceding that this was still insufficient, the minister noted that these additional checks should look “from one end to the other» sectors, from production to distribution, including transport and processing. This work should make it possible tosee if there are unacceptable margins“, and, possibly, to sanction the “inflationary crisis profiteers“.
Shortly after the minister’s intervention, Bercy specified that a “one stop shop“will be launched, in parallel, “for all companies that notice irregularities in price formation“. It will be effectivetomorrow“.
A work also launched by the Senate
This speech comes a few days after renewed accusations from the industrialist Michel-Édouard Leclerc: “Many of the increases requested are increases in anticipation, even speculation“, he declared on BFMTV, at the end of last week. The entrepreneur called for the launch of a “investigative committee” parliamentary, in order to return to the “origins of inflation“. Several elected officials welcomed this track, including the boss of the PS, Olivier Faure, and the deputy (LFI) Manuel Bompard.
The Senate quickly bounced back on these remarks. On Friday, the Economic Affairs Committee, chaired by Sophie Primas, announced thatunderstand the issue of purchasing power and the causes of consumer product price inflation“. The first elements will be published on July 20. This work should shed light on the debates in Parliament around the bill aimed at protecting the purchasing power of households, which promise to be turbulent.
In food, price increases have been particularly strong in recent months. In June, according to INSEE, labels were in turn hit by inflation, increasing by 5.7% over one year, the highest since July 2008: fresh products saw their bill climb by 6.2 %, against 5.7% for other food products.
A track on promotions
On France Inter, the Minister of the Economy also returned to other avenues to protect the portfolio of the French. The government will in particular propose to raise the ceiling for promotions: today, the law provides that they cannot exceed “34% of the selling price to the consumer“. “I propose to raise this threshold to 50%“, so that buyers can benefit from “cut prices“, announced Bruno Le Maire.
The Minister does not seem convinced by the idea put forward by Michel-Édouard Leclerc to remove the additional margin on food products. “Today, at the request of the FNSEA and French food manufacturers, we are forced to take a 10% margin on food products“, lamented the distributor, at the end of last week. This system requires retailers to keep a margin of at least 10% on the sale of food products, in order to boost farmers’ incomes. “10% must go to the producers, I want to make sure that this 10% goes to the producers“, declared Bruno Le Maire, announcing the launch of a “mission of the General Inspectorate of Finance(IGF) on this point.
“We need to think about pricing mechanisms“, Pleaded the entourage of Bruno Le Maire on Monday. The IGF will therefore have a dual objective: to verifythat there is no abuse in the current pricing of the most sensitive products“, and “check that the devices“provided for by the Egalim law”really benefit farmers and not middlemen“. This work, carried out in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture, will also associaterepresentatives of farmers and parliamentarians“.