20 changes in france from january 1, 2024

From benefits and home loans, to new home rubbish laws and consumer goods prices, we look at what will change on January 1. PENSION INCREASES The rate of pensions will increase by 5.3% to

keep ahead of inflation. This affects both those of the _Régime général _and _Allocation de Solidarité aux Personnes Agées_ (Aspa), which will increase to €1,011.06 (gross) per month.

CIGARETTE PRICES GO UP The price of cigarettes and rolling tobacco will increase by between 40c-50c per packet, due to a law from 2023 restructuring how prices rise with inflation. BULLETS

TO BE SOLD IN TABACS _Tabacs_ will be able to sell shotgun ammunition for hunters if they have undergone a training course and obtained the necessary certification. This is part of plans to

diversify the services _tabacs_ can provide, particularly in rural areas. READ MORE: FRENCH TABACS TO SELL AMMUNITION FOR HUNTING FIREARMS All hunting rifles must be registered online. Other

weapons - including ball-trap shooters will have to be registered from February 2024. Private owners who are minors or collectors must register from 2025. The online registry can be visited

HERE. READ MORE: HOW TO DECLARE POSSESSION OF A GUN IN FRANCE (CONNEXIONFRANCE.COM) MINIMUM WAGE France’s minimum wage, the _Salaire minimum de croissance_, or SMIC, will increase to €11.65

per hour (up 1.13% from its current value). The monthly minimum wage pre-tax for a full-time (35 hour) position is now €1,766.92, or just under €1,400 after taxes. In 2023 around 17% of

private sector workers in France were earning the minimum wage. STAMPS COST MORE The price of most stamps will increase. Green stamps will increase to €1.29 (11% higher than the current

€1.16), and the _Lettre services plus_ (turquoise stamps) will go from €2.95 to €2.99. Registered letters (_Lettres recommandées avec accusé de réception_) will cost €5.36, up from €4.83.

International stamps will cost €1.96. However, digital red stamps (_E-timbre rouge lancé_) will stay at €1.49. These stamps can only be purchased online. You can buy them on the website of

La Poste, HERE. DRIVING TESTS AND LICENCES AT 17 The minimum age to take a driving test will be lowered by one year, to age 17. The decision was taken to increase the independence of younger

people, particularly in rural areas. READ MORE: SIMPLER, CHEAPER, FASTER, YOUNGER: NEW FRENCH DRIVING LICENCE REFORMS NO POINTS DEDUCTION FOR MINOR SPEEDING OFFENCES Speeding offences at

less than 5km/h over the limit will not result in a points deduction. Drivers in France ‘lose’ points on their licence rather than gain them. This should help lower the administrative burden

on courts. The offences will still be subject to fines. €100 PER MONTH ELECTRIC CAR LEASE The €100 per month scheme for households with modest incomes to lease an electric vehicle will

start. To be eligible for the scheme people must: * Have taxable household income (_R__evenu fiscal de référence_) below €15,400 * Drive more than 8,000km per year to commute for work

related reasons * Live at least 15km from their job. Applications can be made via the MON LEASING ÉLECTRIQUE platform. READ MORE: LEASE AN ELECTRIC CAR IN FRANCE FOR €100 A MONTH - WHO CAN

BENEFIT? COMPULSORY ‘BIO-WASTE’ CHANGES ‘Bio-waste’, which includes food and vegetable waste, will have to be sorted into a separate bin for collection by local authorities. However, many

departments – and households – say they are not ready for these changes. READ MORE: SEVEN QUESTIONS ABOUT NEW OBLIGATORY COMPOSTING LAW IN FRANCE FUEL ALLOWANCE SCHEME TO RETURN The _Chèque

carburant_ (fuel voucher) introduced in 2023 will return, this time as an _Indemnité carburant_ (fuel voucher). Around 1.6million extra people will benefit from the voucher, which is aimed

at those who use their vehicle to commute to work. Applications will begin at some point in January on the IMPOTS.GOUV website. READ MORE: MORE THAN A MILLION EXTRA PEOPLE TO GET FRANCE’S

NEXT FUEL CHEQUE REPAIR SCHEME BONUS INCREASES More products will be made eligible for the repair scheme bonus (_Bonus réparation_), and others will qualify for more (financial) support. The

scheme can reduce repair bills for appliances, electronics and clothes by up to €60 at certain participating outlets. It is intended to reduce waste by encouraging people to have their old

things mended, rather than replace them. However, only a small percentage of the money earmarked for the scheme has been used to date. READ MORE: HOW TO GET FINANCIAL HELP TO REPAIR A

SMARTPHONE IN FRANCE CARTE GRISE PRICE INCREASES IN SOME REGIONS The price of a _Carte grise_ will increase in three regions: Île-de-France, Normandy, and Centre-Val de Loire. The _Carte

grise_ is an essential requirement for vehicle registration in France. In the capital region around Paris, it will now cost €54.95, 19% more than before. PARIS TRAVEL CARD PRICE INCREASES

The cost of the Paris public transport Navigo card will increase. A monthly pass will cost €86.40, although employers are required to pay at least 50% of this for their employees. PÔLE

EMPLOI GETS NEW NAME, MORE RESOURCES The _Pôle emploi_ (jobseekers) in France will be rebranded as _France Travail_. It will also receive more resources and funding as the government seeks

to reduce the number of people out of work. Pay for people in training and internships (stages) will increase to €4.35 per hour from the current rate of €4.05. MISCARRIAGE SICK LEAVE Women

who suffer a miscarriage will be able to take sick leave without losing a day of pay (_jour de carence_). MAPRIMEADAPT’ LAUNCH _MaPrimeAdapt_’, a service to help with home renovations for

the elderly and disabled, will launch. The scheme will help fund renovations to help people keep on living in their own homes, such as walk-in showers, electric stairlifts, and accessibility

renovations (increasing door widths for wheelchair users, for example). INCREASE TO MAXIMUM SOCIAL SECURITY INPUT The _plafond annuel de la Sécurité sociale _(annual social security

ceiling) will increase to €46,368 from €43,992. This ceiling is used to calculate people’s eligibility for certain benefits, tax deductions (such as the _Plan Epargne Retraite_) and their

payment obligations. PRÊT À TAUX ZÉRO CHANGES, HOME SAVINGS INTEREST RATE INCREASED The zero-interest loan (_prêt à taux zéro_) to help people buy a home, originally meant to end in 2023,

has been extended to 2027. Changes to the scheme have made more money available to millions of people. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said households earning less than €4,000 per month

should be eligible for the loan. In addition, PELs (_plans épargne logement_, or home saving plans) opened from January 1 will have an interest rate of 2.25%, up from 2% at present. READ

MORE: INTEREST-FREE PROPERTY LOANS TO BE AVAILABLE TO MORE BUYERS IN FRANCE CHILDREN STATE-AID GRANTS AUTOMATICALLY PAID TO PARENTS Grants and other state-aid paid to the parents of children

in _lycée_ or _collège _will be automatic, without the need for parents to apply. Information from schools and public bodies will be cross-referenced, allowing for those eligible to be

identified and reimbursed automatically.