From benefits and home loans, to new home rubbish laws and consumer goods prices, we look at what will change on January 1.
Pension increases
The rate of pensions will increase by 5.3% to keep ahead of inflation.
This affects both those of the Régime général and Allocation de Solidarité aux Personnes Agées (Aspa), which will increase to €1,011.06 (gross) per month.
Cigarette prices go up
The price of cigarettes and rolling tobacco will increase by between 40c-50c per packet, due to a law from 2023 restructuring how prices rise with inflation.
Bullets to be sold in tabacs
Tabacs will be able to sell shotgun ammunition for hunters if they have undergone a training course and obtained the necessary certification.
This is part of plans to diversify the services tabacs can provide, particularly in rural areas.
Read more: French tabacs to sell ammunition for hunting
Firearms
All hunting rifles must be registered online.
Other weapons - including ball-trap shooters will have to be registered from February 2024.
Private owners who are minors or collectors must register from 2025.
The online registry can be visited here.
Read more: How to declare possession of a gun in France (connexionfrance.com)
Minimum wage
France’s minimum wage, the Salaire minimum de croissance, or SMIC, will increase to €11.65 per hour (up 1.13% from its current value).
The monthly minimum wage pre-tax for a full-time (35 hour) position is now €1,766.92, or just under €1,400 after taxes.
In 2023 around 17% of private sector workers in France were earning the minimum wage.
Stamps cost more
The price of most stamps will increase.
Green stamps will increase to €1.29 (11% higher than the current €1.16), and the Lettre services plus (turquoise stamps) will go from €2.95 to €2.99.
Registered letters (Lettres recommandées avec accusé de réception) will cost €5.36, up from €4.83.
International stamps will cost €1.96.
However, digital red stamps (E-timbre rouge lancé) will stay at €1.49. These stamps can only be purchased online. You can buy them on the website of La Poste, here.
Driving tests and licences at 17
The minimum age to take a driving test will be lowered by one year, to age 17.
The decision was taken to increase the independence of younger people, particularly in rural areas.
Read more: Simpler, cheaper, faster, younger: new French driving licence reforms
No points deduction for minor speeding offences
Speeding offences at less than 5km/h over the limit will not result in a points deduction.
Drivers in France ‘lose’ points on their licence rather than gain them.
This should help lower the administrative burden on courts.
The offences will still be subject to fines.
€100 per month electric car lease
The €100 per month scheme for households with modest incomes to lease an electric vehicle will start.
To be eligible for the scheme people must:
- Have taxable household income (Revenu fiscal de référence) below €15,400
- Drive more than 8,000km per year to commute for work related reasons
- Live at least 15km from their job.
Applications can be made via the Mon leasing électrique platform.
Read more: Lease an electric car in France for €100 a month - who can benefit?
Compulsory ‘bio-waste’ changes
‘Bio-waste’, which includes food and vegetable waste, will have to be sorted into a separate bin for collection by local authorities.
However, many departments – and households – say they are not ready for these changes.
Read more: Seven questions about new obligatory composting law in France
Fuel allowance scheme to return
The Chèque carburant (fuel voucher) introduced in 2023 will return, this time as an Indemnité carburant (fuel voucher).
Around 1.6million extra people will benefit from the voucher, which is aimed at those who use their vehicle to commute to work.
Applications will begin at some point in January on the impots.gouv website.
Read more: More than a million extra people to get France’s next fuel cheque
Repair scheme bonus increases
More products will be made eligible for the repair scheme bonus (Bonus réparation), and others will qualify for more (financial) support.
The scheme can reduce repair bills for appliances, electronics and clothes by up to €60 at certain participating outlets.
It is intended to reduce waste by encouraging people to have their old things mended, rather than replace them.
However, only a small percentage of the money earmarked for the scheme has been used to date.
Read more: How to get financial help to repair a smartphone in France
Carte grise price increases in some regions
The price of a Carte grise will increase in three regions: Île-de-France, Normandy, and Centre-Val de Loire.
The Carte grise is an essential requirement for vehicle registration in France.
In the capital region around Paris, it will now cost €54.95, 19% more than before.
Paris travel card price increases
The cost of the Paris public transport Navigo card will increase.
A monthly pass will cost €86.40, although employers are required to pay at least 50% of this for their employees.
Pôle Emploi gets new name, more resources
The Pôle emploi (jobseekers) in France will be rebranded as France Travail.
It will also receive more resources and funding as the government seeks to reduce the number of people out of work.
Pay for people in training and internships (stages) will increase to €4.35 per hour from the current rate of €4.05.
Miscarriage sick leave
Women who suffer a miscarriage will be able to take sick leave without losing a day of pay (jour de carence).
MaPrimeAdapt’ launch
MaPrimeAdapt’, a service to help with home renovations for the elderly and disabled, will launch.
The scheme will help fund renovations to help people keep on living in their own homes, such as walk-in showers, electric stairlifts, and accessibility renovations (increasing door widths for wheelchair users, for example).
Increase to maximum social security input
The plafond annuel de la Sécurité sociale (annual social security ceiling) will increase to €46,368 from €43,992.
This ceiling is used to calculate people’s eligibility for certain benefits, tax deductions (such as the Plan Epargne Retraite) and their payment obligations.
Prêt à taux zéro changes, home savings interest rate increased
The zero-interest loan (prêt à taux zéro) to help people buy a home, originally meant to end in 2023, has been extended to 2027.
Changes to the scheme have made more money available to millions of people.
Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said households earning less than €4,000 per month should be eligible for the loan.
In addition, PELs (plans épargne logement, or home saving plans) opened from January 1 will have an interest rate of 2.25%, up from 2% at present.
Read more: Interest-free property loans to be available to more buyers in France
Children state-aid grants automatically paid to parents
Grants and other state-aid paid to the parents of children in lycée or collège will be automatic, without the need for parents to apply.
Information from schools and public bodies will be cross-referenced, allowing for those eligible to be identified and reimbursed automatically.
