PARIS (Reuters) -French supermarket group Casino and its former chief executive, Jean-Charles Naouri, will stand trial in Paris on Wednesday over accusations of price manipulation and corruption.
Prosecutors have alleged that Naouri paid a publisher in 2018-2019 to release information defending Casino in a bid to bolster the share price, which had tumbled in 2018 due to concerns over its debt.
Prosecutors allege that Naouri tried to spread speculation among business media that rival retailer Carrefour was considering a hostile takeover of Casino.
Naouri has denied the charges.
Casino Group, the company that owns Casino and Monoprix supermarkets, and which Naouri headed for decades, has also been accused of active corruption and price manipulation.
In addition to Naouri, three other former company executives and the publisher Nicolas Miguet are standing trial.
Naouri left the company last year, when it came under the control of a consortium led by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. It has launched a drastic restructuring.
The group, which also owns Franprix and Naturalia stores, said that it had sold 366 stores in 2024 and that it planned to slash 3,200 jobs.
A Carrefour spokesperson told Reuters that no one representing the group would attend the trial and declined to comment.
(Reporting by Florence Loeve; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Louise Heavens)
