Restaurant vouchers: the government wants to "perpetuate" food shopping but do away with paper receipts

After the hiccup caused by the Barnier government's censorship , the government is this time taking the lead. The Minister of Trade and SMEs, Véronique Louwagie, announced on Tuesday evening, June 17, to Ouest-France the continuation after January 1, 2027 of the use of restaurant vouchers in supermarkets for products that are not directly consumable, while the executive continues to work on a reform of the system.

Last January, the system allowing the use of restaurant vouchers for food shopping in supermarkets was extended for two years , until December 31, 2026, pending a reform.

"Two points have been decided: the continuation of the system for products that are not directly consumable and the dematerialization of restaurant vouchers," the minister told the regional daily, specifying that she wanted to "reach a text on this payment system as quickly as possible ."

The other decision made to Ouest-France by Véronique Louwagie, the dematerialization of meal vouchers, is justified by the minister by the "very heavy management" imposed by the paper format on "restaurateurs". As a result, issuers of meal vouchers "must anticipate so as to no longer have paper stocks by January 1, 2027" , warned the minister in the columns of the same newspaper.

The scope of the meal voucher system has been the subject of criticism for several months from many catering professionals, who consider that the use of meal vouchers in supermarkets is a "misuse" of the principle of meal vouchers.

During the last extension of the system, in January, the Umih, the main professional organization in the hotel and catering industry, denounced a "bad blow to restaurateurs" .

Among the options suggested by catering professionals: the introduction of a double ceiling, higher for catering than for large-scale distribution. This is an option taken "very seriously," the minister told Ouest-France , while emphasizing the need to "verify its legal feasibility."

At the end of 2023, the Competition Authority issued its recommendations on the sector at the government's request, recommending in particular mandatory dematerialization.