What changes for residents in France in August 2026
Bills will change for millions of households, fuel scheme extends, and savings accounts see new rates
August brings considerable change for people living in France, particularly to household budgets.
The second month of France’s summer holidays, August will regardless see several administrative changes.
Our article here covers major dates across the month, including the payment of France’s back-to-school grants.
Police and gendarmes are encouraging those leaving for holidays to sign up to the ‘Opération tranquillité vacances’ service to have their homes checked by police while away.
Below, we cover the most important changes for residents.
Electricity bills to increase, gas price to drop
Households with a regulated electricity bill will see payments increase by 2.5%, around €26 per year for the average bill.
This comes due to an increase in network usage fees, as well as an aim to raise funds to strengthen the French grid for future heatwaves and other strains.
Increases will be automatic, affecting around 19 million contracts.
Conversely, the price of gas is falling slightly. The benchmark gas sales price, set by the Commission de régulation de l'énergie, is decreasing by 0.8% in August, representing a drop of €1.32 per month for the average bill.
Gas companies do not need to use the benchmark price for their contracts but usually stick close to this in a bid to prevent clients being enticed by cheaper bills elsewhere.
Savings account interest increase
The interest accrued on the Livret A, a government-regulated and tax-free savings account, will increase from 1.5% to 1.7% from August 2026.
The Livret de développement durable et solidaire (LDDS) will also see interest rates increase by the same figure, although the low-income Livret d’Épargne Populaire (LEP) will remain unchanged at 2.5%.
The recalculation comes following an increase in inflation in recent months, and should help add a few extra euros to interest paid out at the end of the year.
Read more about the new rates here.
Fuel aid scheme extended
A €100 fuel aid scheme for drivers has been extended until August 31 by the government.
The scheme, organised in light of increased fuel prices following the outbreak of tensions in the Middle East at the start of the year, was set to end on July 31.
It has been extended by an additional month however to give drivers more time to apply.
Aimed at those who use their vehicle for work (either commuting or in a professional capacity), the eligibility criteria has not changed.
Our article here covers the aid in more depth, but note it was written when the scheme was first rolled out and does not include the new, extended deadline.
Renewed tensions in the Middle East since June have seen fuel prices increase in recent weeks.
New anti-cold call laws
A new law on telephone communication should see the number of cold calls a person receives reduce drastically.
From August 11, people will need to opt in to receive marketing calls, unless they already have an existing customer relationship with the company contacting them.
People will no longer need to register their number to stop commercial calls.
More information can be found in our article here. Note however that spam and other illegal calls will be reduced but not eliminated by the law.
Calls from outside of France – the origin of many scam calls – will only be marginally impacted.
Tax notices continue, correction service reopens
Tax notices (avis) for those who completed spring income declaration via a paper form will arrive throughout the month through the post.
Meanwhile, those who completed the declaration should have received a digital version by July 31, and been informed of it through their email account.
Our article here provides an in-depth look at these vital documents and their use.
Those who declared online are now able to make corrections to their 2026 return through their personal log-in space on the French tax site.
Once logged in, find the ‘Accédez à la correction en ligne’ section to make changes. Note that not all information can be changed, and any changes will result in a new notice being issued.
Tax authorities have not given an exact date for when the correction system will close, but say it will be available until ‘the end of November’.
For those who declared through a paper form, they can request to make changes by logging on to their personal space on the French tax site, then clicking ‘Écrire’ followed by ‘Réclamation/Contestation/Impôt sur le revenu’ to request a change.
Alternatively, they can write a letter to their local tax office including the following information:
Full name
Address
Numéro fiscal (tax number)
Signature
It must detail the tax concerned (the 2026 declaration), explain the reason for the change, and include copies of supporting documents if necessary.
Some households will also begin to receive property tax (taxe foncière) notices this month.
Other changes
A raft of other changes, focused more on companies than residents, will also come into force.
New rules mean that garages in France will need to have been in operation for at least three years to issue owners with a vehicle registration certificate (certificat d’immatriculation, often called carte grise). In addition, they will need to ensure they set up a digital safe with all necessary documents for all applications stored in the cloud, for vehicle authorities to be able to retroactively check.
The changes come following a major cybersecurity breach earlier in the year, and claims that fraudulent vehicle registration costs the state up to €500 million between 2022 and 2024.
Since 2009, France has authorised 'garage agréé' that can help drivers register vehicles (instead of drivers making the request themselves online) taking payments and sending taxes directly onto the state.
Drivers looking to register vehicles this way may find it harder to find an eligible garage, particularly in rural areas. An online search tool shows approved garages near you.
Updates to EU regulations mean that from August 2, companies using AI content from certain sites or programmes will need to make this clear.
This includes AI chatbots (usually used on websites to provide help to customers), photos, and videos.
Timelines for companies to inform workers of an impending sale have been shortened – to one month for companies with 50 employees or less, and for 50 - 250 individual notices are no longer required provided the Comité social et économique, (CSE, worker representative group) is informed.
