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Both Carrefour and Auchan declined to comment on reports of talks between the two companies over a possible deal.
The French finance ministry also declined to comment.
Shares in Carrefour were down 0.63% at 0940 GMT.
Carrefour said in June it had started considering possible consolidation, divestitures or tie-ups of its foreign subsidiaries, but had not made a decision to sell any assets.
In January, Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard dropped its 16.2 billion euro ($19.57 billion) bid for Carrefour after the French government opposed the deal, citing food security concerns.