Flights, gas & better air: Changes to come in December
The first flight of a brand-new low-cost airline, rising gas prices, and measures to reduce air pollution in Annecy and Toulouse are just some of the events you can expect this December.
A new airline takes flight
Most excitingly, Joon - the new low-cost airline from Air France that launched in September this year - is expected to celebrate its first ever flight today, between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Barcelona’s El Prat.
Its other destinations are set to include Berlin (also from today), and later Istanbul, Lisbon, Naples, Oslo, Porto, and Rome, with tickets costing from just €39 one way. Bookings are now being taken on the Joon website.
Annecy and Toulouse join Crit’Air
December will also see the introduction of the Crit’Air vehicle sticker labels in Annecy and Toulouse, after successful rollouts of the scheme in Paris, Lyon, Lille, Strasbourg, and Grenoble. Each label costs €4.18 including postage, and must be displayed on vehicles driving in the city.
This measure seeks to put circulation restrictions in place in case of significant pollution, and will allow the city councils to restrict some vehicles from the roads if needs be.
Gas prices set to rise
Gas prices are also set to rise this month, with an average increase of just under 1% (0.97%). The rise will be 0.3% for those who use gas for cooking; 0.6% for those who use it for both cooking and to heat their water; and up to 1% for households that use gas for their central heating according to the energy regulation commission.
Regulated prices have, in contrast, dropped by an average of 16.6% compared to January 2014.
Tax return errors can still be changed
It is not too late to change your tax return if you submit it yourself, and you believe you made any kind of error in your online tax declaration for 2016. Fear not, it is still be possible to make changes on the impôts.gouv.fr website until December 19.
And...your Paris flat must be registered at the Mairie
Another change in December: anyone who rents out their Paris property for holiday accommodation - for example, on platforms such as Airbnb -, beware: you must now register your furnished property at the Mairie, via an online form.
Doing so will then provide you with a code, which must be displayed on all accommodation advertisements, to prove that the property in question has complied.
Paris property owners - and those in the capital’s surroundings - are permitted to rent out some or all of their main residence to tourists and other visitors, for a total of 120 nights per year. Anyone not complying could see fines of as much as €50,000.
