June will see several major changes taking place across France, affecting health, transport, finances, and daily life.
It comes after May saw a number of important updates, including the opening of a €100 fuel aid scheme on May 27.
As applications take around 10 days to process, the first payments will not be made until June.
As a reminder, residents in departments 55 and above, including French overseas departments, have until June 4 to complete their spring tax declaration, covering income from 2025.
Below, we cover other major changes across the month.
Gas price drop
Gas prices will drop by around 4.8% on June 1, following a huge hike earlier in the year linked to the outbreak of the war in the Middle East.
However, they are still around 10% higher than the start of the year, due to increases seen in May.
The drop corresponds to the ‘benchmark’ gas price, updated monthly by the CRE (Commission de régulation de l’énergie). Indexed gas contracts are linked to this benchmark price.
While suppliers do not have to follow the benchmark price, they generally tend to do so as otherwise they would lose customers switching to cheaper bills elsewhere.
Note the drop only applies to households on indexed contracts, and those with fixed prices will see costs remain unchanged.
Blood donation changes
Rules regarding blood donations will be updated on June 15, clarifying waiting times for people who have recently suffered from certain illnesses or have had medical procedures.
For example, if you have a fever of 38C or above, you must wait at least two weeks until the last symptom associated with the illness that caused the fever subsides before you give blood.
Those travelling to areas where West Nile disease occurs must wait 28 days to give blood (or provide a negative test). If they contract the disease, they must wait 120 days. For malaria, wait times are between four months and three years.
People who have an operation in hospital must wait between one week and four months before giving blood, and this includes dental procedures (a maximum of one week after pain subsides).
Those who have recently had a tattoo or piercing must wait two months, as must those who have acupuncture or certain treatments for varicose veins or mesotherapy (unless all objects were single use and disposed of afterwards).
People must wait up to five days after taking medication before giving blood, including aspirins.
Those with a sexually transmitted infection, or who have paid for sexual relations with someone, must also wait longer.
People who lived in the UK between 1980 and 1996 remain ineligible to give blood in France.
A full list of new criteria is available here, and you can check with the blood donation centre before your appointment to confirm you are not impacted by the changes.
Minimum wage increase
France’s minimum wage (salaire minimum interprofessionnel de croissance, SMIC) will increase by 2.41% on June 1, following an inflation increase largely caused by energy price rises.
The monthly gross pay for a 35 hour/week contracted worker (i.e, someone in full employment on SMIC) will rise to €1,867.02, €44 higher than it is currently.
It is the second increase of the year, following the typical annual re-evaluation on January 1.
More protection for ‘financial services’ customers
Customers who purchase financial products (life insurance, loans, savings, etc) online or over the phone will receive stronger protections from June 19.
The rules come into force following a European directive on the matter, first passed in 2023.
The changes will require sellers to provide more information before contracts are signed, including information on withdrawing from products, filing complaints, etc. This must be given free of charge.
Customers will also be able to cancel products purchased online through an online process, within the given period, and contracts confirmed over the phone will see additional verification.
Finally, customers cannot be manipulated into purchasing products.
The kind of manipulative practices outlawed by the new rules include trying to influence the customer's decision in the way offers are presented, pressuring customers about choices they have already made, displaying pop-up windows that are likely to influence their choices, and a process for unsubscribing from a service that is more complex than the process for subscribing.
Note this only applies to new sales of such products, and not those purchased before June 19, 2026.
No more paper tickets for Paris public transport
A scheme to phase out paper tickets on Paris’ public transportation network will reach its end on June 1, 2026.
Paper tickets will no longer be accepted anywhere on the network after this date.
Sales of paper tickets for the metro/bus/tram network ended on November 5, 2025, however customers could still use them on certain modes of transport as they were phased out.
From June 1 however, these tickets are no longer valid on any form of transportation.
Those travelling in the Île-de-France region will need to use a Navigo Pass, the city’s public transportation card.
Tourists and visitors can obtain a Navigo Easy pass, which costs €2 and can have tickets loaded onto it from their phone or ticket machines across the region, or purchase specific day/week passes.
Tickets can also be loaded onto phones through the official Île-de-France Mobilités app and scanned at barriers, and bus tickets can be purchased through text.
For a full list of ways to pay (including other Navigo options for tourists and residents of the Île-de-France region) information is available in English here.
Note that paper tickets for journeys outside of Île-de-France on the SNCF rail network remain valid. For example, if travelling from Paris to Rouen on the train you can use a paper ticket.
Cigarette price increases
The price of several tobacco products including certain cigarette packets and rolling tobacco will increase on June 1.
Price increases take place across the year, and not all products will see their costs change on June 1.
The full list of prices is available on this document from French customs (douanes).
Additional parental leave
An additional two-months of paid leave available for both parents begins on July 1, but parents looking to immediately benefit will need to inform their employers as soon as possible.
The changes will entitle each parent to add one or two months of paid leave additional to the leave they already legally receive.
Each parent can choose to take the leave simultaneously or alternate with one another, and the leave can be split into two one-month periods or taken all at once.
The leave requires a one-month notice period, meaning those wanting to benefit in July must tell their employers in June.
This is reduced to 15 days of notice when the leave is being taken immediately after the usual parental leave.
More information is available in our article here, although note since publication the start date has been moved forward to July 1, 2026.
French citizens abroad gain access to France Identité
French citizens living overseas can now sign up for France Identité, the digital ID scheme.
During the application process – which remains unchanged – citizens can ask for a digital QR code, which can then be taken to a consulate or embassy to be scanned.
This can take up to 48 hours to approve, but then grants the citizen access to the app, which can host digital versions of several documents including the carte Vitale and a French driving licence.
However, citizens must still have a plastic credit-card style French ID card from 2021 or later to apply.
Non-citizens remain unable to use France Identité, although authorities previously said they wanted to expand the app’s usage to include residents.
Rent reduction scheme expands
Recipients of the réduction de loyer de solidarité, a rent reduction for people living in social housing, will increase on June 1.
The amounts depend on household composition and location of the property (the ‘zone’ it is located in).
The reduction is usually applied automatically, meaning recipients do not need to apply for it.
Updated amounts and more information on the scheme can be found here.
