Leclerc pushes ‘Made in France’

CERTAIN Leclerc supermarkets have started a trial of “Made in France” sections, following the suggestion of the Industry Minister last year.

The minister, Arnaud Montebourg, had called for shops to promote French-made items, famously appearing on the cover of the magazine of newspaper Le Parisien wearing a striped Breton jersey and holding a Moulinex mixer.

“Supermarkets need to put the Tricolore in their shelves to help shoppers get their bearings,” he said.

Now Leclerc has taken up the idea and has given itself a year to “optimise” the concept, which it says is complex to put in place. Difficulties reportedly include a lack of completely French-made products in non-food lines.

The head of the chain, Michel-Edouard Leclerc, has said they are leaving it to individual stores to try to idea or not. One in Lanester, Morbihan, is among the first, with others in Paris, Lyon and Nice also interested; however Mr Leclerc said in certain regions most stores wanted to promote regional, not French, goods – including Alsace, Brittany and the south-west.

In any case, either was good news for French products, he said.

Another large chain, Carrefour, has said it is focusing on promoting local items and stressing traceability and links with producers, rather than French-made ones in general.

Support for ‘Made in France’ shelves
Photo: Le Parisien magazine - photographer Philippe Garcia