end of the till receipt, fall in the LEP interest rate, rise in electricity tariffs, etc.

Farewell to the printed receipt, even if it will always be possible to request it

The law was to come into force on 1^er January, but this had been postponed to 1^er April because of inflation, before being postponed again. This time it’s the right one, despite still high inflation. This measure, which stems from the “anti-waste and circular economy” law passed in 2020, aims to reduce the production of waste. Today, 12.5 billion receipts are printed each year in France, which represents 150,000 tonnes of paper, according to the government.

But it is criticized by some. Several consumer associations, including UFC-Que Choisir and Rural Families, had recalled that this ticket is “a family budget management tool” many households which allows “verify the accuracy of the transaction amount”. On the government side, we insist that “it is not the removal of the ticket or the prohibition of its issuance” which comes into force, but “the possibility for the consumer to refuse the receipt”.

In fact, the slip will not disappear: customers who wish to do so can always request its printing, to remove a doubt about a price for example. In some cases, the ticket remains systematically printed: at the restaurant or at the hotel, when the guarantee must be mentioned on the ticket (for appliances or telephones for example), for canceled operations or even when the ticket concerns the provision of services (hairdresser, mechanic, etc.) for an amount greater than 25 euros.

Popular savings book: the interest rate goes to 6%, the payment ceiling increases

The interest rate of the Popular Savings Book (LEP), reserved for the most modest households, fell from 6.1% to 6%. This decision was announced in mid-July by the Governor of the Banque de France, François Villeroy de Galhau, and the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, at the same time as the maintenance of the interest rate of the Livret at 3%. A for a year and a half.

If the calculation formula provided for by law had been applied, the yield on Livret A would have risen to 4.1% and that of LEP to 5.6%. But the authorities wanted to favor the People’s Savings Account, held by 9.7 million people, rather than the Livret A.

Beyond the political aspect of favoring this savings product reserved for the most modest, the cost is also much lower for the Caisse des dépôts and the banks, as well as for social housing, whose loans are partly indexed to the Livret A rate – so when the Livret A rate increases, the cost of social housing increases, according to the Ministry of the Economy.

In addition to the increase in yield, the LEP ceiling is to be increased from 7,700 euros to 10,000 euros, but this change will only take place in the autumn.

With around 55 billion euros in assets, the LEP weighs ten times less than the Livret A and the Livret de développement durable et solidaire together, the rate of which also remains at 3%.

10% increase in regulated electricity prices

This increase, which will apply to households and small businesses, reflects the government’s desire to gradually reduce “the tariff shield”, to ease the pressure on public finances. The measure concerns households and small businesses connected to a meter with a power of less than 36 kilovolt-amperes.

With this new increase, the shield will be less protective since it will only cover a third of the consumer bill (37%, against 43% previously). This increase will be added to that of 15% in force since February 2023, after + 4% in February 2022. The annual bill of an average consumer heated with electricity will thus increase from 1,640 to 1,800 euros per year, according to government calculations. Since 2021, the regulated tariff, on which some 23 million electricity subscribers depend (out of 34 million), will therefore have increased by 31%.

The association for the information and defense of salaried consumers Indecosa-CGT denounced a “denial, by the government, of the word given to the French in terms of price increases” Energy.

The note could have been more salty, since the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) recommended an increase of 74.5% including taxes. “We are still paying the price for last year’s energy crisis”has explained the president of the CRE, Emmanuelle Wargon, on Franceinfo last week.

The next reassessment of the regulated tariff is scheduled for February 2024.

Back-to-school allowance up this year

The back-to-school allowance (ARS), which helps parents with modest incomes to pay for schoolbags and other supplies, is paid from this Tuesday, in Mayotte and Reunion. The start of the school year takes place on August 17 and 23 respectively. It will however be paid on August 16 in mainland France, Guyana, Martinique and Guadeloupe, according to the Ministry of Solidarity.

The amounts have been increased by 5.6%, compared to the premium paid in the summer of 2022. Awarded subject to means testing, the ARS amounts this year to 398.09 euros for children aged 6 to 10. , 420.05 euros for children aged 11 to 14, and 434.61 euros for teenagers aged 15 to 18.

This aid is subject to a resource ceiling, ie 25,775 euros per year for a dependent child, plus 5,948 euros for each additional dependent child. In Mayotte, other resource ceilings apply. About three million families, ie five million children aged 6 to 18, attending school or learning in a public or private establishment, are concerned.

“When the family’s resources slightly exceed the ceiling, it then benefits from a back-to-school allowance at a reduced rate, decreasing according to its income”says the ministry.