Heatwave loan for Paris residents
Loans of up to €2,500 to pay for air-conditioning, home help or travel for elderly to stay with family outside the city
RESIDENTS in Paris are being offered a special loan to help pay for air-conditioning during a heatwave.
The new scheme, run by the Crédit Muncipal de Paris, can also be used to pay for home help for elderly or vulnerable people who need help with tasks during the hot weather.
Alternatively it can help pay for travel for an elderly person in Paris who wishes to leave the capital during a heatwave and spend time with family elsewhere in France.
The loan is valid until the end of the summer but is only available at times when the city is officially placed on a "level 2" heatwave alert by the préfecture.
Amounts available range from €1,000 to €2,500, at an interest rate of 4% to 5%, repayable over 12-18 months. The loan is only available to residents within the Ile-de-France or in the Eure-et-Loir.
The Crédit Municipal, which specialises in offering financial help to people in difficulty, says the loan funds can generally be cleared within 24 hours of an application being made.
The group hopes that the loan will help people avoid the high interest rates charged by department stores when buying an item on credit.
