Interest rate of French Livret A savings account to fall in August

The interest rate of France’s main government-regulated, tax-free savings account will fall to 1.7% on August 1 from the current 2.4%, France’s Economy Ministry announced on Wednesday. 

The reduction marks the biggest drop in the Livret A account’s interest rate since 2009, and is the second cut of the year, which started with a rate of 3%. 

The Economy Ministry said the change was being made because of the relatively low level of inflation in the first half of the year. 

The rate also applies to the Livret de développement durable et solidaire (LDDS).

There were 57 million Livret A savings accounts at the end of 2023, making it by far France’s most popular savings product. The accounts are restricted to one per person.

Savings in the Livret A and LDDS amount to some €600 billion. 

The Livret A is capped at €22,950 and the LDDS at €12,000. Anyone can open a Livret A in France, with no restrictions on age, nationality or even tax residency. The main French banks all offer these accounts and the interest is tax and social charge free. The deposits are used to fund social housing and other public infrastructure as well as energy projects in France.

Marine Le Pen of the far-right Rassemblement National, wrote on X the cut was a “bad blow to the French people” that would affect the middle and working classes. 

How is the interest rate calculated?

The interest rate is calculated twice a year, in mid-February and mid-July based on the average household inflation rate over the preceding six months and the rate set by the European Central Bank. 

However, the government can freeze a certain rate in place in exceptional circumstances, as it did between August 2023 and February 2025.