On Thursday, the French competition authority approved the acquisition of Casino stores by Intermarché, while requiring the sale of three of them.

"After careful examination of the takeover operation, the Authority has authorized the takeover of the target stores subject to commitments submitted by Intermarché including the disposal of three stores," the competition authority said in a statement.

(Written by Nicolas Delame and Tangi Salaün, edited by Blandine Hénault)