Intermarché notified the Autorité de la concurrence of its plan to acquire 200 food retail stores operated under the Casino group banner[1] To take account of the stores’ difficult economic situations, the Autorité granted the Intermarché group, at its request, a derogation from the suspensive effect of merger control[2] which enabled Intermarché to complete the transaction without waiting for the Autorité to issue its decision was without prejudice to the final decision to be taken by the Autorité at the end of its investigation and competitive analysis could call into question certain acquisitions by considering that remedies were necessary in areas where there would be insufficient competition for consumers after the transaction the Autorité has cleared Intermarché to acquire control of the stores in question subject to divesting 11 stores to competing banners in order to ensure that consumers have access to sufficient alternatives and can benefit from competition when buying mass-market products The examination of the transaction concerned stores other than the 61 stores operated under the Casino group banner whose acquisition by Intermarché was previously examined and cleared by the Autorité on 11 January 2024 subject to the divestiture of three stores that have already changed banners in Lons-le-Saunier (39) The three stores were divested to the Carrefour group[3] Intermarché operates various banners in the food retail sector Netto (hard discount) and Les Comptoirs de la Bio Intermarché and the target stores are active in the downstream food retail markets notably through its subsidiary Agromousquetaires and a buyer in the markets for the supply of everyday consumer goods where the target stores are also present as buyers The Autorité considered that the transaction was not likely to significantly strengthen Intermarché’s purchasing power in the upstream markets for the supply of everyday consumer goods given the low purchasing share of the former Casino group stores acquired by Intermarché The Autorité also found that the transaction was not likely to place the parties’ suppliers in a situation of economic dependency[4] the Autorité concluded that the transaction was likely to hinder competition in the market for the retail distribution of food products in 11 catchment areas surrounding the former Casino group stores in Arc-lès-Gray (70) The Autorité considered that in these areas where Intermarché would significantly strengthen its market power following the transaction there would be no credible and sufficient alternatives to Intermarché to a reduction in the diversity of the offering to the detriment of consumers in the areas concerned These commitments will ensure that a sufficient level of competition is maintained and that the interests of consumers are safeguarded in the markets concerned The proposed buyers will need to be approved by the Autorité which will ensure that they are able to provide a credible food retailing alternative in each of these areas The Autorité will ensure that the buyers have the skills and financial capacities to operate and develop the target stores on a long-term basis The divestitures must include all the components required to maintain the viability of the business and include the staff employed in the stores concerned prior to their takeover by Intermarché The commitments are intended to safeguard adequate local competition The aim is to allow a competitor to take over the stores and their activities in order to safeguard competition in the area concerned thereby ensuring that consumers have a diversified offering in terms of prices and products The store divestiture process is closely monitored by the Autorité in the months following the decision to clear the transaction The party cleared to carry out the transaction must present to the Autorité buyers capable of ensuring a valid takeover and then providing effective competition which will clear the effective divestiture of the store in question The divestitures do not therefore entail the closure of the stores While the effective conclusion of a merger is subject to clearance by the Autorité de la concurrence the Autorité may grant a derogation enabling the parties to finalise part or all of the transaction without waiting for the clearance decision in order to allow for the continuation of the business activities The granting of such a derogation is exceptional A derogation may be granted in cases where the acquired business is experiencing significant difficulties the granting of a derogation by the Autorité is without prejudice to the final decision taken at the end of the investigation divestitures) or even prohibit the transaction if it is detrimental to competition [1] Since the planned transaction was notified and after Intermarché informed the Autorité several target stores have been transferred back to the Casino group or removed from the scope of the acquisition 430-4 of the French Commercial Code (Code de commerce) by letter dated 1 March 2024 [3]Autorité decision 24-DCC-02 of 11 January 2024 Auchan and Casino entered into new alliances in 2024 The possible effects on competition of these purchasing alliances 420-1 of the French Commercial Code (Code de commerce) did not fall within the scope of the examination of this transaction the new entity has undertaken to divest either of the two stores identified Latest UpdatesCountries Why Join?IL Magazine Free Daily E-Letter Video Our Experts Testimonials FAQsTopics Tuula Rampont is thrilled to have found her own slice of “la belle vie” and loves sharing the best of what living in France has to offer French food is a feast for all of the senses Known the world over for its quality and what’s known in French as savoir-faire—the artistic sensibility that goes into picking the highest quality products and taking the time to present these creations in the most elegant of formats If you weren’t a foodie before moving to France UNESCO inscribed the French gastronomic meal as an intangible part of world heritage This designation includes the particular terroir of where the products are selected meaning certain food stuffs are best grown in very specific regions of the country the capital of French fig production is a small Provencal town called Sollies-Pont makes for an ideal growing climate for these purple beauties This concept includes the grape growing regions for which France is famous A Bordeaux wine will have distinctly different nuances than a Burgundy or a Bandol red—that’s owing to the notion of terroir The gastronomic heritage designation also includes the elaborate presentation of the meal and the shared experience of dining together mealtime is sacred and a moment to be savored with friends and family Every French food journey begins at the market Most cities and large towns feature a market at least twice a week Smaller towns and villages have a market once a week Some of these markets date back for centuries: one boasts that the market has been in existence since the 14th century the Marché des Enfants Rouges dates from 1628 A good French market has virtually everything one needs to prepare the meal of your choice: butchers people have their favorite markets and favorite vendors while another cheese vendor a few stalls down has only a few customers They scrutinize the offerings carefully and ask questions about their intended purchase before buying a typical meal can last anywhere from 90 minutes to more than four hours… and beyond guests can expect an aperitif to kick off the meal and a cheese and salad course before moving on to dessert These rituals are true for lunch or dinner… depending on if you have the time and small sweets like artisanal chocolates or French-style cookies and cakes are likely to come after the dessert course While many hosts like to prepare their own desserts it’s also popular to stop off at the local bakery to pick up a selection of French pastries You may be treated to layered cake pastries like the decadent chocolate cream and coffee cake known as an Opera or you might be offered a cream-filled pastry like profiteroles (puff pastries) Not forgetting the world-famous French macaron or eclair the meal might include an after-dinner drink known as a digestive the flavorful plum known as the mirabelle provides the preferred liqueur of the Lorraine region—l’eau de vie de Mirabelle weekend lunches often finish with a round of digestives as well Many people make their own digestives and are very proud to display their home collections the French breakfast is a very simple affair Many prefer a traditional croissant or pain au chocolat It’s also popular to slice thicker bread and spread them with butter and jam Learn more about France and other countries in our daily postcard e-letter Simply enter your email address below and we’ll send you a FREE REPORT: A Taste of France: All the Ingredients for the Good Life While French cooking can conjure up images of demanding chefs and elaborate dishes that take hours to make there are many ways to interpret French cuisine From simple bistros and brasseries to high-end the food served depends a lot on the quality of the ingredients and who is doing the cooking and tasty stews and soups can easily be whipped up at home in a modest amount of time The more elaborate dishes that you’ll find at gourmet restaurants rely heavily on French-style sauces—which take quite a bit longer to prepare but make up the heart of any gourmet French meal or fish is sublimed and taken to the next level by an exquisite the French plat will then rely on the delicateness of the chosen accompaniment—a side dish Think of a smattering of julienned carrots and zucchini in a light cream sauce or a thinly stacked layer of potato gratin (known as a gratin dauphinois) full of rich nutmeg flavor or even a medley of wild mushrooms topped with a bacon-infused foam you can be sure that the dish will be presented with a thought to portion sizes—as diners will want to savor each decadent course that comes their way To truly get to know “French food,” you have to know the regions Despite the hoity-toity reputation that many French dishes have most have humble origins—not created for kings Now-famous regional specialties were largely based on the local products that were available at that time That’s why you’ll find plenty of apple-based and dairy-heavy dishes in Normandy a region rolling in apple orchards and dairy farms the cuisine features the olive oil that comes from the olive groves of the region Let’s take a look at the cuisines from some of France’s most popular food regions known for its lavender fields and olive groves The region’s most famous dish is probably bouillabaisse Coming in second for best-known is likely ratatouille Also popular is petite farcie—assorted vegetables One of the heartier local dishes is daube provençal Even in Provence, dishes can be narrowed down to a precise origin. You’ll often see certain foods labeled “Provençal”, but they’re actually Niçoise—from the city of Nice salad nicoise—a salad primarily made of tomatoes Lyon is the natural place to begin an examination of French food The city is so renowned for its outstanding cuisine that it’s referred to as “the gastronomic capital of the world” Lyon has produced some of France’s most famous and innovative chefs Traditional Lyonnaise cuisine is hearty stick-to-your-bones fare that should be avoided by vegetarians or anyone who prefers eating light The cuisine often features pork (in every permutation chicken and duck (particularly the livers) The adventurous eater will enjoy dishes such as salade de foies des volailles (salad with pan-seared chicken liver) or tripes à la Lyonnaise (tripe fried with onions and garlic) The less adventurous among us will go crazy for quenelles de brochet a delicious fish dumpling covered in a creamy lobster sauce Salad Lyonnaise (green salad with bacon and poached eggs) is also a great choice as is fonds d’artichaut et foie gras (artichoke hearts with foie gras) If you want to sound more adventurous than you are Although this translates as “silk worker’s brains,” it’s really just fromage blanc (the French version of sour cream) with shallots and herbs you’ll find the regions of Normandy and Brittany both are known for having an excellent and huge variety of seafood and shellfish you’ll find plenty of apples in Normand cuisine and products Savory crêpes are typically known as galettes These are made with buckwheat flour and are commonly served with eggs and cheese (although fillings can run the gamut of ingredients) Sweet crepes are often slathered in salted caramel comes cuisine with a distinctly German touch including choucroûte garnie (sauerkraut with boiled potatoes and sausage) flammekueche (a savory thin-crust tart with cheese and bäckeoffe (a casserole made with assorted meats expect lots of spiciness from Basque country cuisine dishes tend to be enhanced with red Espelette peppers Traditions and Culture in France 5 Best Cities and Towns to Live and Retire in France Is France a Safe Place to Live? Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker From a 15,000-egg omelette and four courses of figs to a famous lemon carnival Turkey soup being prepared in Licques, near Calais. Photograph: Liz Garnett/AlamyFête de la Dinde, Licques, Hauts -de -FranceMid-December; dates TBC Sports Gazette The sports magazine brought to you by the next generation of sport writers He may have been small in size but his impact on French rugby was huge as the Eiffel Tower At many different international rugby matches over the past few weekends a minute’s silence has been held in his memory The elusive winger was capped 67 times for his country Dominici’s struggle with mental health had been well documented throughout his life and his depression was triggered due to the death of his older sister Pascale Sports Gazette looks back on his life and amazing career in rugby Dominici showed signs of a sporting prowess at a young age training with French League club AS Monaco Football ran through the Dominci family – his father was a goalkeeping coach at SR Colmar and Hyrès FC playing scrum-half for Solliès-Pont in the third division of French rugby The stint with the team would last for two years as he left for Valletta in the second division the hierarchy of RC Toulon showed interest in him Far from being the European powerhouses that they would be in years to come,Toulon were plagued by financial difficulties Moving to Stade Français and winning his first cap for France Dominici made the move to Stade Français where he would build a relationship with head coach Bernard Laporte who was to be French national team coach in years to come Dominici’s early period at Stade Français was a huge success as the club won the French Top 14 title in 1998 beating Perpignan 1998 was also a momentous year for Dominici He won his first international cap against England at the start of the 1998 Five Nations Championship and capped his debut with a try in front of a huge crowd at the Stade De France as France beat England by 24-17 France would go onto the claim the Grand Slam for the championship that year The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the first World Cup in the professional era France were drawn into Pool C alongside Fiji Despite winning all three matches in their pool they had looked wooden and did not put sides away comfortably beating Canada and Fiji by only 13 and 11 points respectively France then saw off Argentina in the quarter final and booked a date with New Zealand in the semi finals at Twickenham The semi final pitted Dominici against the man who defined rugby union in the professional era with France and the All Blacks only separated by two points midway through the second half Then scrum-half Fabien Galthie put in a box kick which bounced kindly for Dominici who burned past the All Black defence and raced in for the try to take France into a remarkable lead His influence on the game inspired more French tries France had more belief in them going forward who single handedly turned the semi-final around France started to shock the pre-tournament favourites with fantastic set piece moves and heroic defence Dominici ran onto the pitch in utter joy like a kid in a candy shop “The biggest upset in the whole of Rugby World Cup history” And Dominici was the catalyst for that upset One of the all time top individual performances in a Rugby World Cup match. @christophedomi was phenomenal in the RWC 1999 semi-final for @FFRugby pic.twitter.com/zF0YRKFIVx — Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) December 19, 2018 France lost the final 35-12 to Australia – but Dominici had well and truly arrived The new millennium promised so much for French rugby with the arrival of Laporte as head coach A Six Nations Grand Slam in 2002 and impressive showings internationally saw them go into the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia as one of the tournament favourites His best try of the tournament came in the quarter-final against Ireland His searing pace proving too hot to handle for Ireland that day as France went onto win 43-21 Up next was England in the semi-final – but Dominici went off for cramp after he was yellow carded for a trip on Jason Robinson France lost 24-7 in torrid conditions in Sydney with Jonny Wilkinson kicking all of England points Stade Français had become one of the top clubs in France 2003 and 2004 with Dominici an integral part of the side he was facing competition for his number 11 shirt for France in the form of Toulouse pairing Cedric Heymans and Vincent Clerc He was in and out of the starting 15 leading up to the next World Cup in France France spectacularly lost to Argentina on the opening night of Rugby World Cup 2007 They rebounded from there and finished 2nd in their pool Finishing second in their pool meant another date with New Zealand The All Blacks had a 13-3 lead at half time before France came back and stunned the rugby world winning by 20-18 Dominici was one of four players that played in both the 1999 and 2007 win against the All Blacks their World Cup ended with a semi-final loss to England with Wilkinson breaking French hearts once again Dominici made one final appearance for France in the third-place playoff against Argentina Dominici turned his attentions to coaching and stayed on at Stade Français as a coach.He was an assistant coach to future Australian coach Ewen McKenzie at the start of the 2008/09 season before joining the Stade Francais board the following season Dominici’s problems with mental health had been with him throughout his life since the death of his sister when he was aged 14 “When she died I went into self-defence,’’ he recalled Pascale helped me with my homework and taught me to dance “The blues of my childhood always caught up with me I give free rein to my self-destructive ideas.” he launched a bid with a United Arab Emirates consortium to take over Beziers Rugby club but the deal ultimately fell through Friends of Dominici said that the move had affected him personally Although the passing of Christophe Dominici is a sad one his playmaking skill and ability lit up French rugby and was a danger to any defence on whatever pitch he played on His death hugely signifies the importance of mental health in rugby and the support networks that players all around the world can rely on the legacy that he left will touch French rugby forever And if you’re reading this from outside the UK, you can find a service near you at CheckPoint.Org 22 hails from Cheltenham where his passions are rugby union and horse racing Myles studied an undergraduate degree in Multimedia Sports Journalism at UCFB Wembley He has had previous written work published for Sportsvibe Y"},"category":false,"taxonomy":{"active":false,"name":"category"}},"markup":{"custom_html":true,"wpp-start":"","wpp-end":"<\/ul>","title-start":"","title-end":"<\/h2>","post-html":"{thumb} {title} {stats}<\/span><\/li>"},"theme":{"name":""}} The Autorité has today completed its analysis of the takeover of the stores formerly operated under the Casino banner by the Intermarché Auchan notified the Autorité of its plan to acquire 98 food retail stores operated under the Casino banner To take account of the stores’ difficult economic situations a derogation from the suspensive effect of merger control[1] which enabled Auchan to complete the transaction without waiting for the Autorité to issue its decision the Autorité has cleared Auchan to acquire control of the stores in question subject to commitments regarding two stores to ensure that consumers have access to sufficient alternatives and can benefit from competition when buying everyday consumer goods 430-4 of the French Commercial Code (Code de commerce) by letter dated 19 March 2024 Auchan operates stores in the food retail sector under various formats: hypermarkets (under the Auchan banner) supermarkets (under the Auchan Supermarchés banner) and convenience stores (under the My Auchan banner) Auchan also offers online Click & Collect shopping with collection (at collection points or drive-throughs under the Auchan Drive and Chronodrive banners) or home delivery formerly operated under the Casino banner[2] are primarily active in the food retail markets Although the Autorité ruled out any risk of harm to competition in the vast majority of areas examined where Auchan already had stores it concluded that the transaction was likely to hinder competition in the market for the retail distribution of food products in Aubagne (13) and the 11tharrondissement of Marseille there was serious concern about Auchan strengthening its market power without there being any credible or sufficient alternatives to regulate is competitive behaviour a decline in the service level or an increase in prices To address the risks to competition in Aubagne a store belonging to its group in Aubagne or the target store This commitment will ensure that a sufficient level of competition is maintained and that consumers’ interests are safeguarded in the markets concerned At the La Valentine shopping centre in Marseille Auchan has undertaken to transfer part of the retail space of the target store the aim is for one of the parties (or transferees) to operate at least 2,500 sq.m of retail space (hypermarket) and the other to offer a more specialised food offering Following numerous exchanges with Auchan and the shopping centre landlord and several months of detailed investigation the Autorité concluded that this – novel – commitment would eliminate the risks of harm to competition in Marseille by maintaining sufficient competition and enhancing the food offering for consumers The proposed buyers and transferees will need to be approved by the Autorité which will ensure that they are able to provide a credible food retailing alternative in each of the areas concerned The Autorité will ensure that the buyers and transferees have the skills and financial capacities to operate and develop the target stores on a long-term basis The sale of the store in Aubagne and the transfer of part of the retail space in Marseille must include all the components required to maintain the viability of the business During the search for buyers and transferees the stores will continue to be operated under the Auchan banner the sub-leases will also need to be approved by the Autorité which will ensure that they offer the transferees sufficient commercial independence vis-à-vis Auchan The decision issued today marks the end of the more than year-long examination by the Autorité de la concurrence of the impact for consumers of the change of banner of 404 former Casino stores The Autorité also analysed the effects of another major transaction in the food retail sector namely the acquisition by Carrefour of the French operations of the Louis Delhaize group Cora and Match stores have changed to Intermarché (261) the Autorité has examined several other transactions such as the takeovers of several Casino stores by members of the E In order to maintain the conditions of healthy competition locally and ensure that consumers have access to sufficient alternatives for their food shopping which the Autorité accepted and will monitor with the help of independent monitoring trustees The commitments consist of the divestiture of 25 stores[5] – i.e less than 5% of the stores acquired as part of the transactions – to competing banners which the Autorité will approve before any further change of banner in order to ensure the effective restoration of competition locally which have already been completed or will be in the coming months are located throughout mainland France[6]: Plouaret (22) – Intermarché divested to Carrefour Lons-le-Saunier (39) – Intermarché divested to Carrefour Vals-près-le-Puy (43) – Intermarché divested to Carrefour Auchan was able to change the stores’ banner without waiting for the decision issued today by the Autorité: the stores are today operated under one of the Auchan group banners [3]Of which 18 acquired by the Rocca group in Corsica which was granted a derogation from the suspensive effect of merger control The store concerned is the former Casino hypermarket in Brest (22) a store acquired by Auchan from Casino in Marseille (13) is subject to a commitment to reduce the surface area of the store which will be transferred to two competing banners [6]The three stores to be divested by Intermarché under Decision 24-DCC-02 of 11 January 2024 have already been taken over by Carrefour The three stores concerned are located in Plouaret (22) Lons-le-Saunier (39) and Vals-près-le-Puy (43) [7]Termination of a Carrefour franchise agreement.