Last month, RTL released a report depicting the misuse of the “Chèques repas” food voucher system, with vouchers being used to purchase non-food items such as electronics in certain stores.
The association “Don’t Forget Us”, which was founded in autumn 2020 to draw attention to the plight of restaurateurs and bar owners following months of closures, said the abuse of the voucher system represented further financial difficulties for the hospitality sector.
In a press conference on Thursday morning, Frank Rollinger, a lawyer representing the association, said:
“These are not trifling sums, they add up over time. The market amounts to around 140-150 million euros per year - we estimate the cost of the abuse to be as much as 50%, but without exaggerating, let’s say it costs around a third each year. So that’s 50 million euros which are misused - this is both illegal, and punishable. We are not asking for the vouchers to be taken away from people, but they need to be used correctly.”
The association expressed anger and disappointment at the fact they notified the government of the issue in 2021, but nothing came of it. Rollinger said there should at least be an official press conference to remind people to follow the law when using the vouchers. “Don’t Forget Us” president Jean-Claude Colbach added that many businesses within the Horesca sector now risked bankruptcy following the pandemic, as there had been no financial support in the first eight months of the crisis, until October 2020. He said he hoped the government would intervene soon to support the struggling establishments.
