Should employees be allowed to use their meal vouchers for their daily food purchases, yes or no? The question, which unleashed passions last year, is coming back to the forefront as the government is working on a vast reform relating to the operation of these titles. In 2022, the executive expanded, exceptionally, the use of “restaurant vouchers” to purchase products on the shelves that are not directly consumable (pasta, rice, meat, etc.) in supermarkets. After much procrastination, parliamentarians ended up extending this exemption until 2024, considered as a measure to combat inflation. According to a study carried out by the National Commission for Restaurant Tickets (CNTR), no less than 96% of beneficiaries are “favorable” to the extension of enlargement for the coming years.
“We expected a result close to 100%,” recognizes Patrick Bouderbala, president of the Commission. And this is especially true as more and more employees are favoring “homemade” meals during their lunch break. “More than 60% of employees receiving meal vouchers regularly bring their Tupperware to the office,” he explains. Only a minority of holders – between 15% and 20% – use their “tickets” to have lunch at a restaurant. This change in behavior does not call into question the French people’s attachment to meal vouchers, “essential” for more than 8 out of 10 beneficiaries.
The expansion of the scope of use of titles continues to divide professionals. Within the CNTR, which brings together representatives of employer and employee union organizations, catering professionals and issuers, the exemption is seen as a “misuse” of the system. “Originally, the meal voucher is not a shopping cart check, it is not a boost to purchasing power: it is a special payment voucher intended to ensure public health by allowing employees to have a decent lunch,” we argue. And to recall the specificity of meal vouchers, the exemption from social and tax contributions. If the extension of the meal voucher to all food items were to be ratified by law, these “social exemptions could well disappear”, warns Patrick Bouderbala.
As common ground, the members of the commission propose the establishment of a “double floor” on future restaurant vouchers. “We could imagine a ceiling of 25 euros for the amounts spent at a restaurant and a lower ceiling for purchases in large retailers,” suggests Patrick Bouderbala. The representative recalls that a similar system existed during the health crisis: employees were then authorized to spend 19 euros in supermarkets, and up to 38 euros in restaurants.
Within the cabinet of Olivia Grégoire, the Minister Delegate in charge of Business, Tourism and Consumption, we assure that “nothing has been decided and that all avenues remain open to discussion”. Including the option of a “double ceiling”, therefore. “With a reservation which is due to complexity. The aim is to simplify the use of tickets by the French,” we specify. From a simplification perspective, the dematerialization of tickets is still popular with Bercy. “This avoids losses and theft, which represent 40 million per year on paper tickets,” explains a ministerial source. The government is also seeking to simplify voluntary donations and deterritorialize the use of meal vouchers.
There remains the thorny question of commissions. Currently, restaurateurs who accept meal vouchers as means of payment pay a commission to the issuing companies, between 3 and 5%. The government assures that this subject will be debated with the various stakeholders. In an opinion delivered in November, the Competition Authority was unfavorable to a capping of commissions imposed by issuers. The Authority had highlighted “the existence of market failures, first and foremost the existence of entry barriers, and the existence of market power of historical issuers” which allow “the increase continues commissions.” Bercy estimates that the widespread dematerialization of restaurant vouchers, which Olivia Grégoire hopes will be effective “before 2026”, will help to reduce commissions. “This will break down barriers to entry and make it easier for new players to enter. Increased competition should automatically reduce commissions,” says an advisor. All of these points will be discussed on April 18, during a meeting bringing together the ministry and representatives of the CNTR.
