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March 26 (Reuters) - Grocery items sourced from the Monoprixchain of stores will be available on Amazon's Prime Nowservice to customers in Paris this year, the French group'sowner Casino and Amazon said on Monday.

Speculation had been growing in recent months about the U.S.online giant's intentions in France, after its general managerfor France said in a newspaper interview it aimed to launch itsgrocery delivery service in the country.

"Thanks to this unique partnership between Amazon andMonoprix, Casino Group reinforces its omni channel distributionstrategy," Casino Chief Executive Jean-Charles Naouri said in astatement.

Amazon's agreed in 2017 to buy grocery chain Whole FoodsMarket Inc for $13.7 billion, a move that raised expectations itcould focus on Europe and spurred French retailers to strategiseover how to improve their own online offerings.

Groupe Monoprix has 698 stores located in city centres,including 300 stores in France and 85 in international marketsunder the Monoprix banner.

Groceries sourced from Monoprix will be available in thePrime Now app and web site through a dedicated virtual store,the companies said.(Reporting by Alan Charlish; Editing by Richard Lough)