Cost of stamps set to jump 7%

IT IS about to become more expensive to post a letter in France, with the price of a stamp set to rise by an inflation-busting average of 7% from tomorrow - but it’s not all bad news for customers.

The cost of sending a parcel overseas is set to fall 5%, La Poste said, while any small package that is less than 3cm thick and weighs no more than 1kg will no longer be classed as a parcel, but as a letter - slashing nearly 50% off the cost of delivery.

The brunt of the increase will be borne by those who need a rapid letter delivery service. A red “priority-class” stamp, which promises delivery the following day, will set you back €0.76 - up €0.10, or 15%, on the price on the last day of 2014

The cost of the more popular green stamp, which La Poste says is fixed to more than half of the 130million letters it delivers every month, will rise from €0.61 to €0.68.

Les Echos said that the increase in the cost of stamps will be another strain on already tight household budgets, following the 2.6% hike in rail fares announced by train operator SNCF that comes into force today.

But La Poste said the price increase was needed to maintain the “high standards” of the universal delivery service, adding that it will cost households in France - which, according to the company’s own figures, spend an average €46 annually on delivery charges - an additional €4 a year.

Photo: Alexandre Duret-Lutz