Intermarché, Auchan, and Carrefour have notified the Autorité de la concurrence of their plans to acquire 323 food retail stores from Casino group, while requesting exemptions from the suspensive effect of merger control. The Autorité de la concurrence granted these derogations, allowing the transactions to proceed without waiting for the completion of the merger control process. This move raises concerns about potential competition issues in the food retail sector, particularly regarding market concentration and potential anti-competitive effects. The takeover could impact competition among supermarkets and hypermarkets, potentially leading to reduced consumer choice and higher prices.