France agrees to lower prices of products in supermarkets – 06/03/2023 – Market

The French government announced this Monday (6) an agreement with the main retail distribution companies to limit the price of several products during an “anti-inflation quarter”, in a context of social tension due to the pension reform.

The initiative, which should last until June, intends for companies to offer “the lowest possible price” for a series of products of their choice, said the Minister of Economy, Bruno Le Maire, after a meeting with distributors.

The cost of the operation, in which Carrefour and Casino will participate, among others, will be “several hundred million euros” and will be financed thanks to retailers’ margins, explained Le Maire.

Faced with the increase in food prices, which reached 14.5% per year in February, according to the statistics office Insee, the government has been looking for several months for a mechanism to sustain purchasing power.

The announcement of the “anti-inflation quarter”, which will be recognized by a logo in the colors of the French flag in supermarkets, comes at a time of mass protests against the project to postpone the retirement age from 62 to 64 years.

Several companies have also announced commercial operations in recent days to reduce the prices of various products, such as Carrefour, Intermarché and Monoprix.

Strike against pension reform

The unions intend to “paralyze France” on Tuesday (7) with the resumption of large demonstrations against the pension reform of the liberal president, Emmanuel Macron, accused of “remaining deaf” to popular rejection.

Two out of three French people, according to polls, are against the project to postpone the retirement age from 62 to 64 from 2030 and to bring forward to 2027 the requirement to contribute for 43 years (and not 42 as currently) to receive the full pension.

The government claims that by raising one of the lowest retirement ages in Europe it intends to avoid a pension deficit.