Overview
- The Groupement Mousquetaires confirmed on Tuesday, June 2 that 72 of the roughly 91 Auchan supermarchés offered in January will be taken over by Intermarché or Netto franchisees.
- France’s competition authority has opened a formal review of the proposed joint operating arrangement covering about 164–167 stores and aims to issue a ruling by early July 2026.
- Seventeen supermarkets were not taken by Mousquetaires and remain run temporarily by Auchan, with the company saying employees at those sites stay on the payroll for now.
- Unions warn the 17 unclaimed shops, many former Casino outlets concentrated in southern France, are loss-making and could close if no buyer appears, threatening about 1,000 jobs.
- The deal is part of Auchan’s multi‑year push to refocus on hypermarkets and reduce its supermarket footprint, a strategy that follows large 2024 job cuts and could trigger further local store closures or legal challenges.