2025 Agricultural Show: Five Supermarket Brands Join Together in Support of Farmers

In the midst of trade negotiations , five bosses of French retailers - Carrefour, Intermarché, Système U, Casino and Auchan - are meeting on Wednesday, February 26 to announce initiatives in favor of farmers. The request was initiated by Karine Lemarchand , presenter of L'Amour est dans le pré on M6, who has become a spokesperson for farmers.

Despite this meeting, one big name is missing: the Leclec group. " Karine Le Marchand has an initiative, some distributors are responding and you will have noticed that the first of them has decided not to go there... ", says Jean-François Loiseau, president of ANIA, the main association of the agri-food industry. He therefore denounces a failed commercial operation.

For him, large-scale distribution is circumventing the Egalim law, which is supposed to guarantee a better income for French farmers, by using large European purchasing centers. " Distributors today are taking our companies to other countries to negotiate commercial conditions, while agricultural products are purchased in France, the factories are in France and the products are sold in France... ", deplores Jean-François Loiseau.

We are asked to go and negotiate in Spain because it is easier.

Jean-François Loiseau, President of ANIA

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The Agricultural Cooperation, which represents three-quarters of the more than 400,000 French farmers, is on the same line. The president of the union, Dominique Chargé, is taking part in the negotiations. For him, competition between supermarket chains is leading French agriculture into a wall. " Tomorrow, consumers will have more and more imported products, which do not meet the qualitative excellence that they want to see on their plate, " he asserts.

At the inauguration of the Agricultural Show on Saturday, February 22, President Emmanuel Macron judged the system to be insufficient. He also stated that a reform of the pricing structure was under consideration.