Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, unveiling plans to tighten rules on sales, said: “We can’t have scenes like this every few days in France.”

His new law will control aggressive short-term discounts on items.

In the meantime, he implored Intermarche — which sparked scenes of chaos when it slashed the price of a 950-gram pot of Nutella from €4.50 to €1.41 for three days — to avoid announcing more flash sales.

In the immediate aftermath of fights breaking out over discount Nutella, Intermarche continued aggressively discounting coffee and nappies.

One store manager told Republicain Lorraine: “It was horrible. It was out of control. Around 250 people were there when the shop opened, just to buy the nappies. Women were fighting each other.”

However, Mr Le Maire said Intermarche had now “signed a deal to no longer carry out these kind of promotions” and must “keep their word”.