French bakers have taken aim at a major supermarket chain that is offering inflation-busting low prices for baguettes, saying the move will undermine competition in one of the country’s prized industries. The Leclerc group said in newspaper ads on Tuesday that “because of inflation, the average price of baguettes could increase significantly. That’s unthinkable”, vowing to cut into its profit margins to cap the cost of the signature French loaf at 29 euro cents (24p). Bakers, farmers and millers came together the following day to attack Leclerc for its campaign. In a joint statement, industry organisations said the average price for a baguette, an everyday staple in French households, had reached 90 cents, driven by rising costs for flour, electricity and labour. “We have to pay people properly, those who plant, harvest, who gather the grain and make flour, those who make the bread. What Leclerc is doing is shameful,” he said. Leclerc boss, Michel-Édouard Leclerc, told business magazine Capital that prices for baguettes in his shops has been about 30 cents “for at least a year.” “In an environment where [prices for] everything are going up and will keep going up, we wanted to send a signal that Leclerc will keep prices accessible for consumers,” he said. Some 10 billion baguettes are consumed every year in France – some 320 every second.
