Interest rates on tax-free bank accounts in France to increase
The rate will increase from 0.5% to 1% on Livret A and LDDS accounts, and from 1% to 2.2% on LEP accounts
The main French bank accounts on which tax, social charges or fees are not levied are called livrets
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The interest rates for three different types of tax-free bank accounts are to be increased, France’s finance minister Bruno Le Maire confirmed yesterday (January 14).
There are some special bank accounts in France that are regulated and are not subject to tax or social charges or fees. They typically have low interest rates, but these are to be increased on three of them to keep up with inflation.
The main French bank accounts on which tax, social charges or fees are not levied are called livrets.
The interest rates on Livret A and Livret de développement durable et solidaire (LDDS) accounts are to increase from 0.5% to 1% from February 1. The interest on the Livret d’épargne populaire (LEP) accounts is to increase from 1% to 2.2%.
Mr Le Maire made the move following a proposal by the governor of the Bank of France, and said the change is to “allow people in France to cope with inflation”.
Read more about the different types of tax-free bank accounts in France in our article here: What are the tax-free bank accounts in France?
‘Increase not sufficient’
Valérie Pécresse, the presidential candidate for right-wing party les Républicains, said the increase on the livrets was “not sufficient”.
“We have an inflation rate of 2.5% and we are revaluing the livret to 1%", she said.
"This means that in reality, all the people who put their savings in the Livret A are losing money today.”
She said that she wants to merge the Livret A and LDDS to create what she calls a Livret vert.
“I want the funds to be used to help with the ecological transition of the country,” she said.
"You can imagine that if Livret A becomes less popular as people feel they are losing money, then we will lose financial resources in the ecological transition that our country so badly needs, which is obviously not what I want."
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