French retailers have agreed to offer rock-bottom prices on staple foods to help households cope with accelerating inflation, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Monday, as quoted by Bloomberg and Agerpres.

Supermarket chains’ profit margins will be hit by the impact of several hundred million euros by offering products at reduced prices during the “anti-inflationary quarter” until June, Bruno Le Maire said.

The products on which the discount will apply will be freely chosen by the distributors and may vary from one region to another, but they will be identifiable thanks to the logo, which includes the tricolor and the slogan “anti-inflation quarter”. These provisions of the plan are reminiscent of some measures taken by former US President Gerald Ford in the 1970s.

“This is a strong agreement that will be visible and protect our citizens. The fight against inflation is everyone’s business,” Le Maire said at a press conference.

Carrefour SA CEO Alexandre Bompard, one of the supermarket chain’s executives, who attended a press conference hosted by Bruno Le Maire on Monday, told reporters that the price cuts would be decided by each chain and whether they would mainly target own-brand products, for which exist is the greatest possibility of maneuver.

“The measures taken by different retailers are different in nature, as there is a principle of freedom for retailers to offer the most effective promotions for their customers,” said Oleksandr Bompar.

The French government rejected the idea of ​​reducing VAT

In neighboring Spain, despite cutting the VAT rate on a range of food items in January, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is under pressure to do more in a context where food inflation has topped 15%.

One of the smaller parties in the government coalition led by Pedro Sánchez last week called for a cap on food prices and a 14% cut on 20 staples.

The Spanish government also announced a tax on the excessive profits of banks and large energy companies.

On the other hand, Bruno Le Maire on Monday rejected the option of reducing the VAT rate in France, which he believed would be too expensive for public finances and ineffective in reducing prices.

When the anti-inflation initiative expires, the French government will ask retailers to renegotiate prices with wholesalers to take into account recent falls in the consumer price index.