“We have inflation for ten years”, estimates Michel-Édouard Leclerc

2023-09-11 15:24:48

France is not done with inflation. Guest this Monday on LCIthe president of the strategic committee of the centers E.LeclercMichel-Édouard Leclerc, estimated that the country would still go through a “very long period” of rising prices.

How to explain it? “The inflation we have just experienced was due to the disruption linked to the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis etc. But now we are going to enter more difficult production conditions, with relocations, the concern for decarbonization or even the elimination of fossil fuels,” he explained, referring to a “change of model” which will have an impact on prices.

“We have inflation for ten years,” he insisted. The State can, however, decide not to remain powerless in the face of this rise in prices, judges Michel-Édouard Leclerc. “Through bonus and penalty policies, but also by pushing wages, the State will have to compensate for this lasting inflation,” he continued. The outlook is therefore not good, even if the price of certain food products is expected to fall in the short term.

A drop in prices for certain raw materials

As a reminder, food prices jumped 11.1% year-on-year in August. This rate “will go from 11% on food to 2%, 3%, 4%” in the coming months “and that will already be a victory,” he judged. The prices of certain raw materials will fall, assures the group boss, citing “paper”, “aluminum” or “cereals”.

Incidentally, the president of the Leclerc group returned to “shrinkflation”, a practice which consists of masking the rise in prices by reducing the quantities sold. This can mislead consumers since the packaging remains similar and the price of the product identical, even though the quantity sold is lower. The practice, which may concern many consumer products, remains “still marginal”, judged Michel-Edouard Leclerc.