Every December, announcements are published in the French press about all of the changes that will be taking effect in the coming year, including everything from new driving laws and the latest increase in minimum wage, to price hikes at the Post Office and nutrition labeling on processed foods. Some of the changes only affect residents, but there are also a few changes that repeat visitors will notice, too.
In this article
Changes that Affect Residents and Visitors
Ticket Prices Higher for Versailles, Louvre, and Eiffel Tower
Two of France’s most popular tourist sights are raising their prices in 2024. Starting January 1st, the Palais de Versailles is increasing its regular château entrance from €19.50 to €21, and the Passport tickets from €21.50 to €24 (or €32 during the days of the Grandes Eaux Musicales and Jardins Musicaux). The Louvre Museum announced that the full-price entrance ticket will increase from €17 to €22 beginning January 15th, the first price hike since 2017. If you already purchased tickets in 2023 before the prices changed, they will remain valid.
These price rises are mostly due to the rise in energy prices in France over the past two years, as well as the many renovations these buildings constantly need. But I don’t think it’s a big deal. They’re both still less expensive than the Catacombes (€29) and they’re less expensive than most museums in New York City, like the Met ($30/€27). French museums are also 100% free to anyone under 18, and European students under 26.
But the current “winner” is the Eiffel Tower, which is raising its prices again, from €28.30 up to €29.40 to take the elevator to the top in 2024, and from €21.50 up to €22.40 if you take the stairs halfway. But the top level is closed for renovations from January 8-February 9, 2024, so the highest you can go is the second level (€18.80 by elevator, €11.80 by the stairs). If you’re planning on visiting this winter, note that the closest metro station, Bir-Hakeim, is also closed through February 4th.
Slight Increase for Metro Tickets
Public transport tickets and passes creep up a little bit each year, and 2024 is no exception. The single paper tickets are up €0.05 to €2.15 (€1.73 for e-tickets on a Navigo card), and up €0.40 for a carnet of ten tickets to €17.30. All-zone passes have also risen slightly: €20.60 for the day, €30.75 for the week, €86.40 for the month, and €950.40 for the year. This isn’t the same as the special metro tickets and passes that will be sold during the 2024 Summer Games from July 20-September 8th. For more info on that, see the article Paris Metro Prices Rise, Olympics Pass Unveiled
Stamps & Shipping Continue to Rise
If you live in France you’re already familiar with the sticker shock of sending packages to the US or Canada through La Poste, which have almost doubled over the past five years. In 2024, Colissimo is going up again 5.6% across all destinations outside France and the purple “Marianne” stamps for a 20g letter sent outside Europe will be €1.96 (or €4.79 if you want it tracked). The Large “Colissimo Prêt-à-Envoyer Monde” pre-paid postage box for objects up to 5kg is now €52, or the Extra-Large at €72 for 7kg (they got rid of the smaller options in 2023). Okay, the Olympics branding for 2024 is cute, but ouch. Within France, the green “Marianne” stamps go from €1.16 to €1.29 for standard-size letters (only €1.26 if you print them yourself). Tracked letters are going up from €1.66 to €1.79.
Cigarettes Up to €12.50
The fact that this is front-page news in France is telling. Even at €12.50 per pack of cigarettes, you’ll undoubtedly be surprised at how many French people still smoke. And I’m not sure the price increase – between €0.50 and €1 depending on the brand – will make a dent in that. Hard to blame the French completely, since the most popular bands by far are from the US; Marlboro Reds are the best-selling in France according to tobacconists. The prices of rolling tobacco are not spared.
New Calculation Method for Nutri-Score
The Nutri-Score is a label you’ll see on all packaged/processed foods in France since 2017 that scores their nutritional value from A to E (green to red). In 2024, a new version of the Nutri-Score will prioritize whole foods, rich in fiber, compared to refined products such as white bread, pasta, and rice, focusing on the levels of fat, sugar, and salt in products. Products that contain a lot of fiber, protein, or oils with a low rate of saturated fats should gain a few points in their score, while red meat, ready-to-eat meals, and sodas will see their score drop. Companies will have 24 months to adapt their labeling.
Living in France
Slight Decrease in Natural Gas Prices
If you’ve got gas cooking or heating in your Paris apartment, you’ll know 2023 was brutal. Supposedly a bit of relief is coming in 2024. Prices in January will be slightly lower than December, with cooking gas on average €0.12284 per kWh (VAT included), and heating gas on average price €0.09990 per kWh. The annual subscriptions remain the same.
Sorting of Biowaste Becomes Mandatory
One-third of the content of French household trash consists of food waste, i.e., 83kg of residual waste per inhabitant per year. To cut down on this, the French are now implementing the collection of biowaste (kitchen and garden waste). This will be different depending on where you live. In Paris, there are many options if your building doesn’t yet have a compost bin, including collection bins at most open-air market locations, many public parks, and also some private groups like Les Alchimistes. The best way to find out is to visit your arrondissement’s town hall (Mairie). I actually got a lombri-composteur (composter with worms) for free from my Mairie in the 13th (but gave it to a neighbor with a bigger balcony). Then I was taking my bag of kitchen waste (from a little hermetically-sealed bucket I keep under the counter) to a park near me that has composting bins. Finally, two years ago the outdoor markets started putting out bins on market days, and finally these became permanent bins (right across the street from me, I’m spoiled).
Many buildings have compost bins next to the waste and recycle bins, and I assume most larger apartment buildings will start getting these now (you need at least 8 people in your building to agree to use it before the city would provide a bin, but that should be default now that the new regulations come into effect). Note that some biowaste collection is for garden compost, and some is turned into biogas. Be sure you look for signs on any biowaste bin you use to know exactly what can be included and what can’t (meat and bones are less of a problem for municipal collection than in neighborhood garden compost bins, for example).
Appliance Repair Bonus Expanded
More good news for the environment! The government’s repair bonus will be doubled in 2024 to encourage you to repair your appliances instead of throwing them away. Some examples: €40 for a vacuum cleaner; €50 to repair a washing machine, a dishwasher, or a tumble dryer; and €60 for a television. Twenty other items such as hot water kettles will see an increase in their bonus by €5. And the number of items eligible for the bonus has gone from 49 to 73 products, and includes certain usage breakdowns (e.g., unclogging a drain pump). Here’s a handy pictogram with the amount you can get reimbursed for each item. Find more information on the Ecosystem website (in French), including the link to search for a qualified repair service (with the QualiRépar label).
Interest on Savings Accounts in France
French savings accounts are pretty great (at least compared to what I get on my US savings account). The tax-exempt Livret A savings account will remain at 3% interest rate throughout 2024. If you’ve hit the €23k threshold, you can also get a Livret de Développement Durable et Solidaire (LDDS, a sustainable and solidarity development savings plan) for the same rate of 3%, up to €12k (not counting the interest). Both allow you to withdraw your funds at any moment. If you’ve filled that one, too, and you plan on someday purchasing property in France, the fixed interest rate on the Plan d’Epargne Logement (PEL, or Home Savings Plan) will increase from 2% to 2.25% in 2024. Unlike the other two plans, you’re locked into this rate until you cash out and you have to pay taxes on it, but the limit you can save is much higher at €61k. Note that in 2024 you can no longer open a PEL for children under 18 (and if you already have one for them, you can’t add more funds to it until they’re 18).
Progressive Income Tax Brackets Raised 4.8%
If you’re paying taxes in France, the brackets have been raised for inflation by 4.8% in 2024, so if your income didn’t go up more than that in 2023, your taxes will be lower. Here’s the2023 Marginal Income Tax Rate (for a single household):
- Up to €11,294: 0%
- €11,294 € to €28,797: 11%
- €28,797 € to €82,341: 30%
- €82,341 € to €177,106: 41%
- More than €177,106: 45%
Driving in France (for Residents)
FYI, if you’re a French resident (ie declared France your primary residence), you’re required to get a French driving license after one year of living in France. You might be able to get away with using your foreign one…until you have an accident and your insurance company refuses to cover you (I’ve seen it happen).
No Points Lost for “Slightly” Speeding
If you already have your French driving license, then you should know that in 2024 you’ll no longer lose points on your license for speeding tickets where you’re going less than 5km/h over the limit (but you do get the fine, from €68-€135). If you’re not sure what that means, each French driving license comes with 6 points, then you get 2 points added each of the first three years (when you’re on “probation”) for a total of 12. You lose 1-6 points any time you commit an infraction (more points for more serious infractions, up to 8 for multiple ones). Once you’ve lost all of your points, you lose your license. Considering how speed-happy the French are, I can see how popular this new law will be!
Driving License at 17
If you have teenagers, they can now take the driving exam at age 17 (it used to be 18 in France). This is to make it easier for young people to get to work, especially in rural areas without public transport. Finally, if for some reason you’ve got some old tires on hand you’re trying to get rid of, individuals can now deposit up to eight used tires per year for free at any tire distributor or store selling tires (of at least 250m²) without the obligation to purchase new tires.
Affordable Government Leasing Program for Electric Cars
To encourage wider adoption of cleaner modes of transport, the government is starting a new leasing program to rent (with a purchase option), electric cars for €100 per month for those making less than €15,400 per year and who have to travel 15km or more to get to work. On the flip side, government subsidies for the purchase of electric cars will go from €5000 up to €7000 for those with low incomes, and go down to €4000 for the wealthiest French residents. Some cities are already restricting the circulation of diesel cars built before 2006, including Strasbourg, Lyon, and Grenoble (Paris is next).
Working in France
Minimum Wage Gets a Tiny Boost
From January 1st, the SMIC (minimum wage) will increase automatically from €11.52 to €11.65 gross per hour. Monthly, the legal minimum wage will therefore be raised to €1,766.92 (€1398.69 net), an increase of €19.72. This is its eighth increase in three years, to account for inflation, and affects 3.1 million French workers (or 17.3% of the workforce, not counting agriculture).
Extension of the Use of Meal Vouchers for Grocery Shopping
Many French workers get subsidized restaurant vouchers, or tickets restaurants, as part of their pay package, which they can use to eat lunch. Normally they’re not allowed to be used to buy foods you’re not going to eat right away (a supermarket packaged sandwich is okay; a box of dry pasta and a jar of sauce is not, for example). But as part of their efforts to ease the inflation burden, the French Parliament has extended until the end of 2024 the right to use the vouchers to buy all food products, not just those that are immediately consumable.
Better Paid Internships
The stipend for internships in France will increase from €4.05 per hour to €4.35, or about €10 more per week. This is a minimum amount, so it’s possible to be paid more. As a reminder, the stipend is required in France for any internships in a company exceeding two months, consecutive or not, over the school or university year.
Pôle Emploi Becomes France Travail
If you’ve ever been unemployed in France, you may be familiar with the Pôle Emploi, or the unemployment office. In 2024 it’s changing a bit, with a new name — France Travail – and a more comprehensive offer of support and services, to “simplify procedures for job seekers”. One of the biggest changes is that anyone receiving unemployment benefits of any kind will now be automatically registered and guided through the employment system. According to the Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, each job seeker must sign an “engagement contract” that requires anyone receiving benefits to complete at least 15 hours of training or integration per week. “Our objective is that all those who can work do so, and that for all those who cannot because something is standing in their way, we help resolve these problems.”
Retiring in France
Retirement benefits are adjusted annually in France according to inflation, and in 2024 they will go up 5.3%. The government is also launching MaPrimeAdapt’, which will help finance 50-70% of any adaptation work in the homes of the elderly or those with disabilities (for example, the replacement of a bathtub with a walk-in shower, the installation of a stairlift, or the widening of doors). Interestingly, you get to choose who you’d like to do the work, not required to use an “approved” artisan.
France, I love you! French people, I love you too!
Why anyone would want to live in the US after reading this is beyond me. I can’t wait for my Italian citizenship to come through.
So much better support for the elderly than on the US.