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Parisians who need raw meat 24/7 are now well catered for after the city installed its first meat-dispensing vending machine.
The machine was installed outside a butchers shop in the 11th Arrondissement of the French capital and offers products including a faux-filet of beef, Bayonne ham from the Basque country, and beef carpaccio.
Local media report the machine sells products at market prices - with the cost of two pork chops around £3.85. accepts - and accepts credit and debit cards.
Owner of the Basque butcher's shop L’Ami Txulette , Florence Pouzol, told the Telegraph : “The vending machine offers a selection of our products which we prepare and vacuum-pack ourselves. We wanted to give our customers an additional service when the shop is closed.”
The vending machine is not the first to dispense food other than snacks in Paris. In 2011, baguette vending machines became popular after a baker installed one next to his boulangerie.
The rise of vending fresh food from machines is a reaction to France’s reluctance to open stores seven days a week, coupled with the desire for easily accessible fresh produce.
The machine cost around £10,000, and follows the launch of four other meat vending machines in the French provinces. While a cheese vending machine opened in 2015 in the eastern town of Pontarlier, the rise of fresh-produce machines is concerning critics who worry for the state of the French high street.
Emmanuel Gripon, an official of the French Bakers’ Federation, told the Telegraph:“I oppose these machines because they stop people coming into our shops. It’s contributing to the desertification of the countryside and it harms the social life of communities.”
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However, many people welcome the machines as a convenient source of fresh produce. Comments on Facebook have been overwhelming positive. User Veronique Houdebert said it was an excellent idea and that she would use it this weekend, while another customer said the butchers should be "very proud."
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