Anger of farmers: why are Leclerc stores being targeted ?

Plusieurs magasins Leclerc pris pour cible par les agriculteurs. MAXPPP – Richard Villalon

Depuis plusieurs jours, les agriculteurs mènent plusieurs actions contre les supermarchés Leclerc. Pourquoi l'enseigne de grande distribution est-elle visée par ces mouvements de protestation ?

While farmers have been expressing their anger for several days, large retailers and more particularly Leclerc stores are particularly. In a context of galloping food inflation, the president of the E.Leclerc group, Michel-Edouard Leclerc, has requested in recent months a modification of the terms of commercial negotiations with manufacturers in order to pass on as quickly as possible the drop in the cost of raw materials on supermarket shelves, indicates BFMTV.

"For us, this gentleman is the biggest influencer when it comes to mass distribution", says Jean-Pierre Allaux, president of the FDSEA in Aude, at the microphone of BFMTV. Farmers criticize Michel-Edouard Leclerc in particular for favoring foreign and non-French products in order to benefit from more advantageous prices. Thanks to this strategy, Leclerc stores display very competitive prices compared to its competitors, but also leaves French producers on the sidelines.

Incident at Leclerc de Castelculier

This situation pushes farmers to enter Leclerc stores to check the origin of the products. This is the case in Brissac in Maine-et-Loire where Vincent once again carried out this operation at the end of the morning. They denounce "foreign products which are sold at lower prices than ours" like& ;nbsp;milk which is sold at 70 cents per liter.

For these reasons, several dozen farmers dumped tires and spread slurry on the facade of the Leclerc supermarket in Castelculier this Thursday, January 25, indicates La Dépêche. The roof collapsed under the weight of the manure and several customers were even trapped inside for around ten minutes.