A weapon for purchasing power. The extension in 2024 of the possibility of paying for all food shopping with meal vouchers, promised by the government, will be examined on Thursday by the National Assembly, the president of the lower house Yaël Braun-Pivet announced on Sunday. The bill proposed by the groups of the presidential majority (Renaissance, MoDem, Horizons) will be examined "Tuesday in committee and Thursday in public session," said Ms. Braun-Pivet on France 3.
"We are moving very quickly so that if Parliament decides to vote for this derogation, it can apply from 1 January. I'm very confident because there's the same bill tabled by Republicans in the Senate so I think we'll find a majority," she added.
The text proposes to extend until the end of 2024 the extension of the use of meal vouchers to all food products, even if they are not directly consumable without cooking or preparation (flour, pasta, rice, eggs, fish, meat, etc.). This derogation, which has been in place since August 2022, was due to expire on 31 December 2023.
'Nothing will change' in 2024
With the deadline approaching, parliamentarians and users had sounded the alarm in recent days and the government announced that "nothing will change" in 2024.
The usage cap of €25 per day will also remain unchanged, said Minister Delegate for Trade Olivia Grégoire. Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire even said he was "ready for us to open the discussion" to make this system permanent beyond 2024, to the great displeasure of restaurant owners.
However, the bill examined on Thursday only aims to extend the scheme until 31 December 2024. The Senate has scheduled the examination of a similar bill on 12 December, at the initiative of the LR group.
Born at the end of the 1960s in France, meal vouchers are now used by more than five million employees to pay for meals or food services at some 234,000 merchants.
