Once again, Michel-Édouard Leclerc attacked on Friday on BFMTV the profits of industrialists, who according to him are at the origin of a large part of the inflation we have experienced over the past two years. But this time, he went too far, according to Marc Fesneau. The Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty published a long post on social networks to condemn the remarks of the head of the strategic committee of the E.Leclerc centers, judging them "indecent".
At issue is a passage in the interview during which the man who is often presented as "the favourite boss of the French" says that the big industrialists "have paid themselves" over the past two years. "Ukraine, Covid, the post-Covid period, the unavailability of containers, all of that was a pipe dream," he said. Before that, Michel-Édouard Leclerc had estimated that there had been "two reports by the General Inspectorate of Finance, which established that inflation has financed 25% of the margins of our major industrialists". The first, published in November 2022, stated on the contrary that "the agri-food industry has squeezed its margins". The second, on the other hand, pointed out that the gross operating surplus (EBITDA) of manufacturers had rebounded by 50% in the second half of 2022, "erasing their losses compared to 2019".
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'Conspiracy theories'
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There have been dividend distributions this year and last year in the energy sector, in the transport sector, but also in the cleaning products sector and large multinationals in the food industry. There were 20% dividends," Michel-Édouard Leclerc continued on BFMTV.
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We should end up getting used to and being indifferent to the untimely remarks of Mr. Leclerc who has only ever served one cause: the consolidation of his only profits," reacted Marc Fesneau on X (ex-Twitter) and LinkedIn. "And then there are times when they just become indecent because behind it all, there are human realities. This reality is one of tragedies, deaths, and powerful disorders. Economic and social," he added, referring to the war in Ukraine and the Covid-19 pandemic.
And the Minister of Agriculture accused the distributor of spreading "conspiracy theories". He believes that they are not "the ones who will help in the period. Nor the search for scapegoats or the absence of the slightest feeling of agricultural and more generally economic patriotism on the part of certain actors." To fight inflation, Marc Fesneau says he calls for "everyone's responsibility". "And we can perhaps hope that in this period of 'magic' ofChristmas, Mr. Leclerc will finally feel concerned," he concludes.