August 1 changes: electric up 2.5%

RISING electricity prices, lower interest rates on savings, and the introduction of Paris rent caps are among the changes coming into force in France this August 1.

Electricity becomes 2.5% more expensive from today - although lower than the 8% rise that France's energy pricing authority CRE had asked for.

EDF says prices did not rise enough between 2012 and 2014, leaving a €2.1billion gap in its budget. Gas costs remain unchanged after several months of decline.

As previously reported, the interest rate paid on France's popular tax-free savings account, the Livret A, falls from 1% to 0.75% from today.

Underground car parks in France must charge drivers by the quarter-hour from August 1, while the traditional free parking in Paris over the summer has been scrapped, except on Sundays.

Also in Paris, rent caps come into force from this weekend. The maximum legal monthly rent for a studio in an old building ranges from €27 per square metre in parts of the 19th and 20th arrondissements to €37 near the Eiffel Tower. Existing rent caps in 28 other cities - including Lyon, Toulouse, Lille and Nice - are revised from August 1.

Still on a rental note, a newly redesigned standard contract takes effect, listing all the equipment in the property, mentioning how much the previous tenant was charged, agency fees, and a list of the work done to the property since the previous tenant left.

Finally, details have been published for this year's allocation de rentrée scolaire. The back-to-school payment will be made at the end of August to families with a household income below €24,306 (for one child, slightly higher for multiple children). The payment is made automatically by the CAF and ranges from €362 to €395 per child, depending on age.