2023-08-01 00:31:17
In the name of ecology and after several postponements due to inflation, France says goodbye this Tuesday to ticket in the box of shops and supermarkets. The measure is denounced by consumer organizations, for whom the receipt serves to do the slopes of those who have a tight budget or who They want to verify what was paid.
The price hike had delayed its implementation. Finally and after two postponements, on August 1 it will enter into force the end of systematic printing of receipts of cash on paper, despite the fact that prices continue to rise.
However, for those who want it, it will still be possible to request the paper ticket.
For those who want it, the ticket can be ordered at the cashier. Photo: Reuters
“The Minister expected a postponement at a time when price inflation in supermarkets was at its peak. (However) for several weeks, inflation is going down“, explained the cabinet of the Minister of Commerce, Olivia Grégoire, acknowledging that inflation “remains very high” but assuring that the decline “will continue”.
A reference
In April, Treasury officials had explained that “when you have 15% inflation on the shelves, the cash receipt is a reference for many French people“.
Food inflation remains in double figures, measured in June at 13.6% annually by INSEE, the official statistics agency.
Food inflation remains in double figures, measured in June at 13.6% annually by INSEE, the official statistics agency. Photo: Reuters
Crusading in a supermarket in Paris, Fred de Rosas believes that this measure is “a good thing.” “Actually, I don’t ask for it anymore”, says. On the other hand, Béatrice, a few steps away, and who does not want to give her last name, affirms that she uses these receipts “all the time” to do her accounts.
Several consumer associations, including UFC-Que Choisir and Rural Familles, have pointed out that this receipt is “a family budget management tool” for many households, as it allows them to “verify the accuracy of the amount of the transaction”.
The office of the Minister of Commerce insists that “it is not about suppressing the receipt or prohibiting its issuance” on August 1, but about “the possibility of consumers rejecting the receipt”.
The office of the Minister of Commerce insists that “it is not about suppressing the receipt or prohibiting its issuance.” Photo: Bloomberg
some exceptions
In fact, the receipt will not disappear: customers who want it can continue to request that it be printed, to clear up doubts about a price, for example.
In some cases, a receipt will still be printed consistently: in restaurants or hotelswhen the guarantee must be mentioned on the receipt (for household appliances or telephones, for example), for canceled transactions or when the receipt refers to a service (hairdresser, workshop mechanic, etc.) whose cost exceeds 25 euros.
150,000 tons of paper
At the end of March, the Perifem association, which brings together retail agents to discuss energy and environmental issues, estimated that “more than half of the French they still want to ask for a paper receipt“.
Olivia Grégoire’s office hopes that the fact that the measure takes effect in the height of summer “gives time for the new habits to be adopted in the fall.” All merchants must post signs near checkouts “in which it is explicitly indicated that from now on it is up to the consumer ask for the cash receipt.
The General Directorate for Competition, Consumption and Fraud Repression (DGCCRF) will carry out controls on this point and verify “the coherence between the price displayed on the shelf and the price paid at the cashier”adds Bercy.
This measure It is part of the law “against waste and the circular economy”, approved in 2020, and aims to reduce waste production.
At the moment, In France, 12.5 billion cash receipts are printed each year. Some of them are very small, which makes it difficult to “collect and recycle”. In terms of environmental impact, represent 150,000 tons of paper, 25 million trees felled and 18,000 million liters of water consumed, according to the Treasury.
However, the impact of the measure is unknown.
RFI with information from AFP
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