Goodbye flour, eggs and other oil paid in supermarkets with your meal vouchers. The censorship voted by the far right and the left last week, which put an end to the government of Michel Barnier, made it impossible, according to Bercy, to adopt in time an extension of the system as it currently exists.
During the summer of 2022, in the midst of an inflationary period, to give purchasing power to French employees who have meal vouchers, the government at the time authorized their use to purchase non-directly consumable food in supermarkets, such as dry pasta, butter or even dry rice. Faced with the French enthusiasm for this extension, the breach of the rule was extended by one year and was to be extended for 2025.
This was without counting on political instability. While the text which was to extend the system was adopted at the end of November by the National Assembly on first reading, it remains stuck in the Senate. “In the absence of a government, the extension of the use of meal vouchers cannot be voted on,” confirms Laurence Garnier, the resigning Secretary of State for Consumer Affairs. It is therefore a direct consequence of censorship for six million French people. »
“Strong consumer demand”
From January 1, however, consumers will still be able to use their meal vouchers in supermarkets. But only for ready-to-eat products (salad, sandwich). A bad blow for their wallets but good news for restaurateurs… at least in appearance. Opposed to the extension of its use to food shopping, they denounce the transformation of the restaurant voucher into a “shopping cart” voucher.
Above all, they estimate having lost 500 million euros to the benefit of supermarkets. “But we are not happy with what is happening,” assures Romain Vidal, who represents restaurateurs and the like within the National Commission for Meal Vouchers. This will strain the various actors and spoil all the work done. » For several months, each party has been pushing for a “dusting off” of the meal voucher.
However, everything is not over. The future government could, if it wishes, vote for the return of the use of meal vouchers to purchase non-consumable products. “He must take care of it urgently,” urges Layla Rahhou, general delegate of the Federation of Commerce and Distribution who has already planned to write to the future Prime Minister. This is a strong demand from consumers. Employees have less time for lunch at midday, they work remotely. They also do their shopping to prepare their lunch bowl. It’s much cheaper than the restaurant. »
On the side of certain restaurateurs, we plead to wait a few months in order to present a complete text. “We still defend the idea of a double daily usage limit between restaurants and supermarkets,” explains one of them. We also want better regulation of commission fees requested by issuers, which are around 4% instead of 0.5% for bank cards. And they will increase again next year. Even the Bank of France is surprised by this discrepancy. In any case, we will ensure that the new rules which apply on January 1st are respected. »