McDonald's, Lidl, Lactalis... which brands are present at the Agricultural Show (and which are absent)?

If the first visitors managed to enter the Agricultural Show on Saturday February 24, the event has been marked since this morning by strong tensions on the occasion of the arrival of Emmanuel Macron. The videos on social media speak for themselves with farmers coming to blows among cows and pigs. Faced with this protest, which has already been in place for several weeks, certain brands have chosen to display themselves alongside farmers, while others have turned their backs on the Agricultural Show, and on professionals at the same time.

In Hall 1, the most popular with visitors, there are several large groups, like McDonald’s. Faithful to the event, it has been 24 years since the company set up shop for a few days at the Porte de Versailles in Paris. This presence at the fast food giant's Agricultural Show is part of its strategy to promote “made in France”. McDonald’s insists that 75% of its agricultural materials are French, with 100% French wheat used in its burger buns and even tricolor chicken in its nuggets. Its fries are also made from French potatoes and are processed in the McCain factory in Marne.

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Other agri-food groups also include Danone, the Sodiaal cooperative (Candia, Yoplait and Entremont) and Lactalis. Present since 2020 at the Agricultural Show, the owner of the Lactel, President and Galbani brands could be heckled during this 2024 edition. The cause is dairy producers who accuse Lactalis of paying them poorly. “Today we have reached the point where Lactalis is the worst payer in France, while being number one in the world for dairy products. Its profits do not trickle down to the producers,” denounced to Le Figaro Laurence Marandola, spokesperson for the Peasant Confederation. “We’re not going to give up. An action is planned for the week, we are going to demonstrate on this subject at the show,” she added.

Dairy groups are not the only ones represented. For meat and charcuterie, Herta's stand is located near the pigs. Loué poultry farmers and Swiss giant Nestlé are also participating in this event, which is expected to welcome up to 600,000 visitors in two weeks. Conversely, Charal, Bonduelle or the Mondelez group, already present during previous editions, have not chosen to return this year.

In mass distribution, actors are also divided on their presence. Only Lidl maintained its participation, for the ninth consecutive year. Its president, Michel Biero, even stressed this week that he would sleep “on site”. As for the other distributors, not the slightest trace of their coming to the Agricultural Show. Auchan and Intermarché have never returned since the health crisis, while Leclerc has never participated in the event. Système U does not have a stand either, but its CEO, Dominique Schelcher, will host a round table next June as part of the National Agriculture Days, which he sponsors. The Carrefour group changed its mind at the last minute. Although it was to be represented in pavilion 4, the distributor ultimately canceled its visit a month before the opening of the Agricultural Show. It remains to be seen whether those who are absent are always in the wrong or if, on the contrary, this will prevent them from tarnishing their reputation.