The sale of alcohol at the service stations could soon be authorized in the canton of Vaud. The Council of State is indeed proposing this Thursday to remove the general ban on the law on hostels and drinking flows, with the notable exception of spirits.
This legislative modification follows an initiative submitted in 2021 by the Verre’libéral deputy Jean-Christophe Birchler. It aims to put an end to a situation deemed inconsistent, since the shops located on the motorways, and which are therefore governed by federal law, can offer alcohol for four years.
In other French -speaking cantons, practice varies. In Valais, Neuchâtel and Friborg, there are beers and wine on the shelves of service stations for a long time. The Jura voted to lift its ban in 2022, while in Geneva, any alcohol sale remains prohibited in these shops. These two visions of the world are mainly opposed to the question of the risks of alcohol consumption for health and road safety.
The Vaudois Council of State believes that a compromise is possible on its soil: prohibiting only spirits, while authorizing the sale of wine, beer and cider, with maintenance of current prohibition hours (from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., even at 8 p.m. in Lausanne and Renens). The measure would also reduce competition deemed unfair with neighboring shops, and could offer an economic boost to small operators. The project of the revised law has been sent to the Grand Council, which will have to decide soon.
