The use of meal vouchers for all food products finally extended

2023-11-15 07:34:04

Published on Nov. 14, 2023 at 8:12 p.m. Updated on Nov. 15, 2023 at 9:12 a.m.

In principle, the possibility of using meal vouchers for the purchase of food products that are not directly consumable without cooking or preparation such as pasta, meat or fish was to end on January 1, 2024. Ultimately, “nothing will change for the French,” announced the Minister for Commerce Olivia Grégoire, Tuesday evening on M6.

This exemption from the normal use of meal vouchers, usually reserved for restaurant purchases, prepared meals, sandwiches, breads or fruit and vegetables, was implemented in the summer of 2022 as a measure to deal with the inflation. But the rise of discontent, particularly on social networks, and political reactions have led the government to review its copy.

The measure “will continue throughout 2024,” assured Olivia Grégoire. “In 2023, it was widely used by the French. Inflation is coming down, food inflation is starting to come down, but it remains difficult,” she argued. The usage limit of 25 euros per day will also remain unchanged, she said.

Thoughts on a name change

For his part, the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, said he was in favor, this Wednesday, of opening a discussion on expanding the scope of meal vouchers.

“Should we not use restaurant vouchers more generally for the purchase of food products? Shouldn’t we even change the name of the restaurant vouchers, which is a little misleading? », asked the Minister of the Economy and Finance on Europe 1 and CNews. “It has to correspond to people’s expectations, to the expectations of employees,” he continued.

It remains to be seen how to implement the measure because it requires a legislative provision. “I hope that this can be done in the 2024 finance bill,” said Bruno Le Maire this Wednesday. In any case, Modem announced on Tuesday that it would present a bill in January in its parliamentary niche if the government had not yet extended the system.

Restaurateurs immediately reacted to this measure. The Umih, the main union in the hotel and catering industry, indicated that it “formally opposes any further renewal, even temporary, of this measure”. He believes that this measure has resulted in “a very significant shortfall” for the profession. He specifies that today less than one in two is spent in a restaurant.