VIDEO – The Livret A rate will double, announces Bruno Le Maire on TF1

This is the investment most popular with the French: 55 million people have a Livret A, and many have saved during the health crisis. While its rate had never been so low, at 0.5% on average, the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire announced exclusively on the 13H set of TF1 this Friday January 14 at what percentage it would be revalued from February 1: the rate will now be 1%, an increase intended to compensate for the current inflation which is weighing on household finances. “The rate of the booklet A will double on February 1”, said Bruno Le Maire.

Until then, Bercy had not yet advanced any official figure. “The passbook A rate will increase in January”, Bruno Le Maire had only announced on December 13 on BMTV / RMC. Economists had however predicted a revaluation of 0.8%, taking into account in particular the increase in inflation, the average which is used in the calculation of the increase in the rate of the Livret A. This increase in the rate of the Livret A is unprecedented , after a continuous fall since August 2011, the date of its last revaluation at 2.25%.

In addition, the sustainable and solidarity development booklet will also increase to 1%. The People’s Savings Account (LEP) will be revalued to 2.2%, against 1% today, “because it is directly indexed to inflation”. However, this placement is only accessible according to a certain level of resources: “All French people who earn less than 20,000 euros per year are entitled to it”, recalled the minister. For example, a couple with children must not receive more than 2500 euros per month to be eligible.

But if this booklet could concern 15 million French people, only 7 million have actually opened one. “It’s a shame, because his remuneration is more than double that of the booklet A”, insisted Bruno Le Maire, who wishes to encourage eligible French people to take the plunge. “We are going to ask the banks to promote this booklet and we will send in the coming days by the general direction of public finances an email to all the French people who are entitled to it to invite them to open a booklet which protects them better against the ‘inflation”, he announced.

Before declaring:“It’s a way of protecting the purchasing power of the French against this inflation which worries them a lot”. All of these upgrades “are the recommendations of the Governor of the Banque de France”, also argued the minister.

It is thus the People’s Savings Book (LEP) which will be the most indexed to recent inflation figures, which have reached peaks in France in recent months: consumer prices rose by 2.8% in December and November, INSEE said on Friday. The level of price increases in France is thus at its highest since 2008. Energy and oil prices in particular have risen sharply: over one year, they show an increase of 18.5% and 22.6%. Food prices, for their part, rose by 1.4% in December over twelve months, with a sharp rebound for fresh products (+3.3%), including fresh vegetables (+3.5%), while bread and cereal prices rose 1.7%.

Despite its revaluation, the Livret A account remains out of step with the course of the price increase. “The Livret A is used to remunerate the savings of the French, but also to finance social housing, and we are all attached to it. It is important that it can be financed under good conditions”, justified Bruno Le Maire. The Caisse des dépôts (CDC), the public bank which provides remuneration for 60% of the money collected on the livret A, indeed grants loans for social housing projects indexed to the rate of this booklet. A sharp revaluation therefore has a negative impact on the sector.

“I am convinced that by the end of 2022, this inflation will decrease, we are now at its peak. This is the time when it is the most difficult and when we act”, also assured the minister. In a press release, the Banque de France stresses that “a drop in inflation below 2% by the end of 2022” is to be expected, and that consequently, “the calculation of the rate of the booklet A will evolve accordingly in 2023”.

These revaluations go hand in hand with a set of measures deployed by the government to try to attenuate the effects of inflation, in particular for low-income households, among which, for example, an inflation check of 100 euros for those who receive less than 2000 euros net per month and a limitation of the increase in electricity prices to 4% in 2022 for all individuals and businesses. “It’s massive”, commented Bruno Le Maire about this last measure.

“On February 1, the bill for the French should have increased by 35%, which was delusional and unbearable for thousands of compatriots”, underlined the Minister of the Economy, explaining that the bills could climb by “300, 350 or 400 euros more” in some cases. As for the government’s refusal to lower fuel taxes, “they are not the future we want for France”, he defended, believing that“we cannot want to decarbonize, fight against global warming and encourage the consumption of fossil products at the same time”.

“We have not stopped acting for months to protect purchasing power. We will remain vigilant and attentive in the coming weeks (…) to this price increase, to the impact on the daily lives of French”, he hammered.