Carrefour will not open the first French store of its Atacadão discounter in Sevran (Seine-Saint-Denis), where the establishment of this Brazilian wholesale self-service brand is the subject of outcry. “We are still in the study phase of different sites for the opening of the first Atacadão store in France, in accordance with the schedule we have set ourselves. The conditions are not met for this to be done in Sevran, but we are moving forward on several other avenues, in conjunction with the municipalities concerned, “said Carrefour on Saturday evening, questioned by AFP on the city’s rebellion against this supermarket. .
If Carrefour had not formalized the location of the first Atacadão, a “cash and carry” that it wishes to develop in France, its representatives had met in mid-January with the town hall of this popular city of 50,000 inhabitants and had indicated to him that Atacadão would replace their Carrefour hypermarket in the Beau Sevran shopping center in September, according to the municipality’s account.
A petition launched
As this supermarket is the only traditional hypermarket in the town, which mainly includes discount brands, local elected officials have stepped up to oppose the arrival of Atacadão. A “No to Atacadão” petition, carried in particular by the mayor DVG Stéphane Blanchet and the deputy LFI of the constituency Clémentine Autain, was launched by the city at the beginning of the month. Several towing operations were held in front of schools this week and again on Saturday morning at the Sevran market.
“I am against a two-speed society, with consumption patterns for the rich on one side and for the poor on the other. I do not agree that Carrefour plans to abandon the land to make way for warehouses, because ultimately we would not have the right to consume like any other city, “declared in the morning to the AFP the mayor.
Very fashionable in Brazil, Atacadão consists of a wide range of food and non-food products “at wholesale prices” sold directly on pallets, individually or in large packaging, for professionals and individuals. The CEO of Carrefour, Alexandre Bompard, himself announced in November the opening of a first Atacadão in Île-de-France for the “back to school 2023”, describing the establishment of the discounter as “a bet” but “probably the best anti-crisis solution”.