Food: the anti-inflationary quarter will “obviously” be extended, assures Bruno le Maire

The anti-inflation quarter in supermarkets will “obviously” be extended “by a quarter”, Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Saturday 20 May, reiterating his “determination” to “stop the price spiral”. proposals “within weeks” for tax cuts.

Since 15 March and for three months, most supermarkets have undertaken to sell a selection of products at the “lowest possible price”, a formula that leaves them great freedom of manoeuvre. The goal for Bercy: to try to stem the galloping inflation on supermarket shelves, still measured at around 16% over one year in March.

“Obviously we will extend (the operation) for a further quarter because the summer is difficult,” Bruno Le Maire told France 2 on Saturday evening. done, so much the better.”

Bruno Le Maire also “thanked” the agri-food producers for having accepted new commercial negotiations “at lower prices”, “which means that, at the beginning of the September-October school year, we will have – in any case it is my determination – broke the price spiral”. The main agribusiness representative body, ANIA, promised last week that the 75 largest companies in the sector would reopen negotiations “by the end of the month”.

Since May 11, Jacques Creyssel, general delegate of the Federation of Commerce and Distribution (FCD), had ensured that distributors had “generally given their agreement to the extension of anti-inflationary operations”. System U CEO Dominique Schelcher announced he would extend the anti-inflation quarter “through the end of the year.”

On the fiscal side, while Emmanuel Macron has promised 2 billion euros in tax relief for the middle classes by 2027, Bruno Le Maire has indicated that he will make “proposals” within “a few weeks” and estimates that “the announcements could be made within a few months”.

“We are doing what our public finances allow us to do and I think €2 billion is already a significant figure,” he noted.