Keep on rolling: France’s paper receipts print ban postponed

The controversial plan to end the automatic printing of paper receipts for most purchases in France has once again been pushed back.

The change was scheduled to come into force on Saturday (April 1)

But Le Parisien, quoting the office of Olivia Gregoire, French minister for small and medium enterprises, trade, crafts and tourism, said implementation had been postponed after discussions between government, retailers and consumer groups.

“[They] tell us that in the face of inflation, many French people want to check the accuracy of the amount of the shopping they do,” said her office.

“In terms of symbolism, it was a rather bad idea to abolish it on April 1, when inflation is at its highest.”

The delay will come as a relief to many Connexion readers, who recently gave us their feedback and were largely against the changes.

Read also: These apps and coupons help you save on your French supermarket shop

Ms Gregoire’s office said the government was considering August 1 or September 1 as possible new dates for bringing in the law.

Implementation has already been delayed once this year.

It was originally slated for January 1 but was pushed back to allow retailers to adapt their stores to the changes.

This time the delay is being made with an eye towards consumers and the impact of high food prices.

Inflation remains high in France. The year-on-year difference between food prices in February 2022 and February 2023 was almost 15%, according to France’s statistics agency INSEE.

Supermarkets have introduced policies to try and limit the impact of inflation on consumers, introducing a range of low-cost products.

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