The resigning government warns of the consequences of the fall of Michel Barnier's government for consumers. The use of meal vouchers in the supermarket may no longer be possible after January 1, 2025, resigning Secretary of State for Consumer Affairs Laurence Garnier said on Monday. According to her, the Senate will not be able to vote on the renewal of the system.
The Senate wants a new government on Wednesday
“This exemption, which was permitted by law, […] will no longer be possible from January 1,” judged Laurence Garnier, interviewed by France Bleu.
The law currently only allows certain food products to be purchased at the supermarket with meal vouchers until December 31, 2024. A two-year extension of this deadline was voted at the end of November by the National Assembly but must be confirmed by a vote in the Senate. However, the Senate Social Affairs Committee has only planned to examine this extension on Wednesday on one condition: that a government has been appointed by that date. Too tight a schedule, according to Laurence Garnier.
“The French will no longer be able to use their meal vouchers from January 2, 2025 for their shopping for flour, butter, oil and all food products that are not directly consumable,” said the resigning Secretary of State on Monday on X. “Less than purchasing power thanks to the National Rally allied with the far left,” she lamented.
Dissatisfied restaurateurs
The system currently allows 5.4 million employees in France to use their “restaurant vouchers” to purchase products requiring preparation on the shelves (flour, pasta, rice, meat, etc.). Restaurateurs deplore it. “The meal voucher becomes a food voucher, it definitively loses its purpose,” lamented Catherine Quérard, president of the employers’ union of restaurateurs GHR, in mid-November.
According to the GHR, the share of receipts from meal vouchers in catering has decreased over the past two years, while that spent in mass distribution has increased from 22.4% at the end of 2022 to 30.1% in mid-2024. Thierry Marx, head of the other organization in the sector, Umih, had already spoken out in mid-October against the extension of the exemption, which he described as a “scandal”.
