Restaurant vouchers: “All employees will be able to use them on Sundays,” announces Véronique Louwagie

Good news for employees: they should soon be able to use their meal vouchers on Sundays, particularly for their food shopping. "All employees will be able to use their meal vouchers on Sundays," Véronique Louwagie, Minister Delegate for Trade , announced this Wednesday in an interview published this Wednesday by Le Parisien , where she unveils the main measures of her meal voucher reform. Neither the form (draft or proposed law) nor the timetable for this reform have yet been set, but the government hopes that it will be debated before the end of 2026.

"This reform simplifies, secures and modernizes the restaurant voucher, to which all French people are attached," explains the minister. It aims in particular to take into account new uses: "Six out of ten French people prepare their meals at home before taking them to work. We must therefore think of them," emphasizes Véronique Louwagie. Concretely, they will be able to buy the ingredients necessary for their weekly meals every day, including Sundays, and throughout France - today, the use of restaurant vouchers is limited to departments bordering the workplace. However, their use during public holidays will remain prohibited, the system must "remain directly linked to the world of work," according to the minister.

The main point of contention concerns their use to pay for food shopping in supermarkets. This temporary system, introduced in 2022 and extended every year since, allows the purchase of food products, even those not directly consumable (excluding alcohol, confectionery, baby food, and pet food). It will be made permanent, despite opposition from restaurateurs, who denounce a loss of one billion euros over two years, according to Umih, the main organization in the sector. The ceiling of 25 euros per day will also be retained. The government ultimately ruled out the idea of ​​a double ceiling, deemed complex and legally risky: "Its application would have been a gas factory," judges the minister.

Another major and anticipated development: the end of the paper format. As of February 28, 2027, only dematerialized vouchers will be accepted, announces Véronique Louwagie. Furthermore, the minister specifies that, from now on, vouchers must be used within the year, with no possibility of carrying over to the following year. The objectives: to prevent hoarding and encourage consumption. "The restaurant voucher is not a savings plan," the minister reminds us.

To reduce commissions deemed excessive—the fees paid by retailers and restaurateurs to restaurant voucher issuers—the government also wants to open up the market, which is currently dominated by four players. The National Commission for Restaurant Vouchers (CNTR) will be abolished, and issuers will now have to obtain authorization based on the advice of the Bank of France. "This is a closed-door situation that can no longer continue," says Véronique Louwagie. A transparency charter on commissions will also be introduced. But there is no question of capping these commissions for the time being.

Finally, the fate of the €48 million "dormant" in this scheme was detailed by the minister: vouchers not used during the year will be transferred to the social and economic committees (CSE); those attached to inactive accounts (employees who have left or died) will feed into the "Better Eating for All" fund, intended to combat food insecurity. Created in the late 1960s in France, meal vouchers are now used by more than five million employees to pay for meals and food shopping at some 244,000 retailers. The cost of this scheme for the State is estimated at €2 billion per year, notably through the exemption from social security contributions, which amounts to up to €7.26 per day.