According to the agreement reached on Monday between the main French retailers (Carrefour, Leclerc, Système U, Auchan and Casino) and representatives of the farming sector, the former would be given just 48 hours to reduce their margins during a crisis in the fruit and vegetables sector, it was reported in Le Monde.
It would be applied when prices of certain fruits and vegetables declined excessively, by 10-25 per cent depending on the product.
One spokesperson at the élysée confirmed that the retail sector had let it be understood that it would play ball, but there were concerns among retailers that they had been unfairly vilified as the main group responsible for the woes of the farming world.
Michel-Edouard Leclerc, head of Leclerc, told Le Monde: 'I will sign this agreement, but above all just to close what has been a bad chapter in relations between the industry and the trade.'
Nicolas Sarkozy has threatened to increase the square footage tax for retailers that refuse to sign the agreement, by as much as 12 per cent.
Jérôme Bédier, head of the FCD, the country's retail industry federation, criticised the step as 'punitive'.
