Michel-Édouard Leclerc on wages, store openings, fuel sales and cyberattacks on connected refrigerators, Digi Mart USA News: Michel-Édouard Leclerc, president of the strategic committee of E. Leclerc stores, was a guest of Francis Letellier on France 2 on Tuesday, November 11, as debates over purchasing power and wage increases continue.
He discussed store openings on Sundays and public holidays, the need to raise wages, his proposal to reduce social contributions, changes in fuel sales, and cyberattacks targeting connected refrigerators at several supermarkets, which were attributed to Iran.
Asked whether he favors the widespread opening of stores on public holidays and Sundays, Leclerc said no. He explained that E.
Leclerc has few stores open on Sunday, usually in the morning, to support a commercial area and prevent it from being completely empty. He said the group has never been an advocate of opening stores every Sunday or on public holidays.
Leclerc said that some locations need a major commercial anchor, and that E. Leclerc can play that role.
He added that when the company holds too large a market share, discussions with municipalities can also be an opportunity to let other merchants breathe, particularly when Leclerc accounts for a very large part of the customer base.
On wages, Leclerc said that they must rise, so that work pays more and children can afford an apartment or a car on their salaries. He said that this has become increasingly difficult, and that compared with his own experience a few years ago, it has become genuinely complicated.
Leclerc proposed reducing the social contributions added on top of salaries. He said that a minimum wage of 1,500 euros actually costs the employer 2,000 or 2,500 euros, and he favors eliminating social contributions, at first for employees so the benefit reaches workers directly.
He noted that Gabriel Attal, François Hollande and David Lisnard have made similar proposals, and that he believes Jordan Bardella mentioned the idea in his book. He argued that the French social model cannot be financed by workers alone while robots and digital technology, which pay no employer or social contributions, compete with labor.
He suggested converting gross wages into net wages and phasing in an increase over four or five years.
On fuel, Leclerc addressed the government’s statement that diesel prices fell at more than 80% of service stations after strategic stocks were released. He said fuel sales had dropped sharply, perhaps by around 28%, and that over a weekend, including a Sunday, combining strategic stocks with regular diesel supplies allowed E.
Leclerc to lower prices by 21 centimes. He said the government had projected reductions between zero and 18 centimes.
He estimated that consumption has increased by about 6 to 7%, though he noted this figure does not account for losses. He said that E.
Leclerc diesel is now four centimes above Total Access and three centimes above the Total price shield.
Leclerc also discussed the reported cyberattacks on connected refrigerators in supermarkets. He said he was first surprised to hear Iran named, and was wary of manipulation.
He said the information was initially presented in many media as coming from the United States, and he called the Paris prosecutor’s office, which issued a clear statement. He said French institutions’ investigations identified small groups of mercenaries acting as intermediaries, and that his centers and research units detected traces of the intrusions in less than a month.
He said he was told the perpetrators are known and face possible retaliation.
