Michel-Édouard Leclerc, president of the strategic committee of distribution leader E.Leclerc and guest on Saturday on the show C l'hebdo on France 5, attacked the Minister of Agriculture Marc Fesneau, in a tense climate between the government and distributors against the backdrop of the agricultural crisis.
"The Minister of Agriculture, @MFesneau, spends his time dividing us! He doesn't call us, we don't see him, I don't know what he wants to do."@Leclerc_MEL in #CLHebdo pic.twitter .com/mAxmIMumwl
— C l’hebdo (@clhebdo5) February 10, 2024
“It’s incredible though, the Minister of Agriculture spends his time dividing us!
», Declared Leclerc's media spokesperson in response to a question about his relations with farmers.
“I don’t know what he wants to do,” he continued, deploring not knowing the minister’s “plan” and not being involved in its development.
A standoff lasting several weeks
Marc Fesneau and Michel-Edouard Leclerc have been engaged in a standoff through the media for several weeks.
The Minister of Agriculture, for example, castigated at the end of December on
The players in mass distribution are more generally in the crosshairs of the government which is trying to stem inflation, particularly on food products.
Michel-Édouard Leclerc not opposed to the Egalim law
The farmers' protest movements in January brought these tensions to the surface, as the opening of the Agricultural Show approaches and an orientation law is in preparation.
Michel-Édouard Leclerc reiterated that he was not opposed to the Egalim law, which aims to protect farmers' remuneration.
He pointed to the transformers.
According to him, “40% of agricultural buyers do not respect the Egalim law”.
The Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire announced Monday that he had identified 124 contracts, signed between manufacturers and distributors as part of commercial negotiations, which do not respect this law and sent injunctions to force the companies concerned to comply with it. .