date:Oct 16, 2013
and an 11.5%fall in the first.
French hypermarket traffic rose 2.4% while food volumes gained 7.7% in the four weeks to 14 October.
Casino now expects to return to positive growth in all its French businesses between the end of 2013 and early 2014.
There are encouraging signs in France despite an economic climate that is not getting easier, said finance director Antoine Giscard d'Estaing.
Despite cautious consumer spending in Europe, the company is confident of 2.35bn in earnings before in