France’s Competition Authority Investigates Aura Retail Alliance

France’s competition authority targeted the purchasing alliance Aura on Thursday, 20 Minutes reported, pointing to potential anti-competitive practices less than three weeks before annual retail negotiations begin.

The regulatory body’s investigative services notified a report to members of the Aura alliance, which groups together Intermarché, Auchan, and Casino. The document identifies several practices likely to harm competition on both supply and distribution markets without offering sufficient economic progress.

The regulator launched an analysis procedure in January focusing on Aura and Concordis, another major buying alliance involving Carrefour and Coopérative U. That broader competitive assessment is scheduled for release by the end of 2026 for Aura and in 2027 for Concordis.

The conclusions do not prejudge the final decision of the Autorité de la concurrence college. The parties now have a two-month window to submit observations and suggest corrective measures.

The groupement Mousquetaires/Intermarché said that it would review the report and present observations during the contradictory procedure. The distributor asserted that these purchasing alliances concern only large intermediate enterprises and multinational brand manufacturers.

“Ces alliances à l’achat concernent uniquement les plus grandes entreprises de taille intermédiaire et les multinationales de produits de grandes marques,” the distributor told 20 Minutes.

The group added that the alliances help propose more competitive prices to consumers, contributing to the preservation of French purchasing power. Auchan and Casino declined to comment.

Supermarkets and food manufacturers have increasingly formed buying alliances to increase bargaining power against major agro-industrial multinationals.

Annual commercial negotiations between supermarkets and suppliers are scheduled to run from December 1 to March 1.