Price increases in 2025 have pushed the average cost of top-up health insurance (mutuelle) to more than €100 a month.
France’s ageing population, the ‘structural’ rise in healthcare spending and access to new treatments and technologies are among contributing factors.
Top-up health insurance is not obligatory in France, but more than 90% of people have some form of it to cover the costs that remain for patients after reimbursement by the social security system.
The price of this cover increased on average by 4.7% in 2023, 8.1% in 2024 and a further 6% in 2025.
However, for retired people the costs are higher. The average price of cover for over-75s in 2025 is €173 a month (€2,076 a year), and €136 a month for retirees.
This compares to a cost of €35 for people aged 16-25, according to data from mutuelle price comparison website Mutuelle.fr.
Older individuals tend to require more medical treatment and follow-up.
Departments in southern France are facing drought warnings, despite rainfall over the winter.
Bouches-du-Rhône implemented warnings in February due to low groundwater levels, particularly the Crau water table.
Pyrénées-Orientales and Hérault departments were already facing drought alerts as a severe lack of rainfall since 2022 has kept warnings almost continually in place, even during last year’s ample rainfall.
The warnings in Bouches-du-Rhône do not apply to those who receive their water from the tap (au robinet) but to those who source it from a well, borehole, or who draw their water directly from a natural source.
Warnings may increase if rainfall does not partially replenish water tables.
Find out about restrictions in your area on the VigiEau website.
Rent on properties across France can now be increased by 1.82% provided the lease is up for renewal in the first quarter of the year (January to March 2025).
Rental increases are capped according to the rent reference index published by national statistics body Insee. This reference is linked to inflation rates on a consumer goods index from the third quarter of the preceding year, leading to the current maximum increase of 1.82%.
This is significantly lower than previous years, which saw the government implement a rental shield to prevent rises of more than 3.5% to protect renters up to April 2024.
Rents due to increase in the last quarter of 2024 were capped at a 2.47% rise.
Note that not all properties are subject to this: certain properties are exempt from any increases while others may see rents increase above this level.
No ETA permit needed for Americans and others only transiting in UK
Non-European travellers who transit through UK airports London Heathrow and Manchester (the only UK airports with transit facilities) will no longer need an online ETA permit, UK officials have announced.
This applies to people transiting through the UK to or from France – for example, if an American flies to Chicago from Paris, via London Heathrow.
Since January 8, non-Europeans wanting to travel to Britain – even if only transiting through to connect to another flight – have needed to apply online in advance for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA), at a cost of £10. EU citizens will be affected from April 2.
Microsoft computer software users should urgently ensure their platform is up to date, the French government has warned, due to a new risk of cyberattacks, spyware, and fraud.
The government platform Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr has recently warned of several new vulnerabilities in widely used Windows software – as well as specific programs including Outlook and Excel in Microsoft Office (from 2016 onwards) – which makes it more vulnerable to the latest cyber attacks.
These vulnerabilities have been identified on Windows 10 and 11, reports antivirus service Clubic, and can be “actively exploited by cybercriminals”.
This could include taking remote control of devices, gaining access to personal data, spying, stealing or destroying data.
Windows has previously experienced this kind of vulnerability. In 2024, it had to fix more than 1,000 faults (which it does by issuing ‘patches’ and fixes in updates).
Bank penalty for information requests
Account holders at La Banque Postale will face fees of up to €15 if they do not respond to certain information requests.
Checks on client information (address, family situation, employment and income details, etc) to verify the data held are to become more frequent, as are additional checks for certain larger or important payments and transfers.
In the latter case, clients may be asked to provide additional supporting documentation when authorising an action.
It is part of continuing legal obligations for banks to help fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
If the bank’s clients do not respond to the requests, they may be charged a €15 ‘customer file update fee’ (frais d'actualisation de dossier client) which will be debited from their account.
The arrangement is expected to start from the summer with potential charges being levied from that point onwards.
From January 1, 2025, properties rated G were not allowed to be rented outpage frederique/Shutterstock
MPs have rejected a bill to relax the rules on renting properties with poor energy efficiency ratings, meaning landlords must follow the existing law, regardless of circumstances.
The bill would have relaxed the ban on letting properties with a DPE rating of G, in some specific circumstances, and mainly concerning properties in a copropriété (typically a block of flats).
Properties rated G+ (the most inefficient among the G-rated properties) have been banned from the rental market since January 1, 2023 (for new leases and renewals), while all G-rated homes have been banned from being let since January 1 this year.
F-rated homes will be banned from 2028, and E-rated homes from 2034.
Owners of faulty Peugeot, Citroën and Opel cars can now make claims
Car manufacturer Stellantis has opened compensation claims for drivers who have had to repair faulty engines following timing belt issues in several vehicles manufactured between 2012 and 2022.
Multiple models from Peugeot, Citroën, DS, and Opel manufactured in this time are affected.
To be eligible, owners must prove they paid out for repair works linked to excessive oil consumption and/or premature deterioration of the engine’s timing belt, which must comply with the manufacturer's maintenance plan.
The work must have been carried out by a professional, while diagnosis and repair must have been carried out by an approved network.
Claims can be made at stellantis-support.com. Compensation only covers the cost of repair work carried out between June 1, 2022 and March 18, 2024 on faulty engines of affected models. It is not for all owners of vehicles with potentially faulty engines.
People travelling on InOui trains can now prove their identity through a QR code generated by the France Identité application.
This QR code contains all of the information held on a French carte d’identité required when purchasing a train ticket, which is the passenger’s full name and date of birth.
Scanning the code allows the inspector to see if this information corresponds to that of the person who should be sitting in that seat according to ticket sale information they have, without also having to scan their train ticket.
The trial began on January 20 for InOui trains before later being enlarged to include Intercités services.
It will be possible to use on OuiGo services later in the year, but not for regional and local TER trains where passengers do not booked a specific seat when purchasing a ticket.
You can now check if – and when – the copper telephone and internet network is scheduled to end in your commune on the official website: tinyurl.com/copper-network.
The network is scheduled to be closed by 2030, starting with 165 communes on January 31, 2025.
Millions of people in France’s 35,000 communes still use the copper landline connections for both telephone calls and the internet via an ADSL hub plugged into telephone sockets.
Under the government’s Plan Très Haut Debit, fibre connections should be made available to all homes by 2025, with those unable to connect eligible for a €300 grant to fit a satellite internet connection.
The scheduled closure of the copper network is staggered in annual waves, affecting:
165 communes on January 31, 2025
834 communes on January 27, 2026
1,409 communes on January 31, 2027
The network’s closure has yet to be scheduled in the tens of thousands of remaining communes.
Orange, Starlink and others provide satellite internet services, and these are expected to become very popular in rural locations.
Certain Economy-class passengers on Air France flights must now pay an additional fee to choose their seat.
Passengers buying the lowest level of ticket (Economy-Light) were previously able to pay a fee to choose their seat before check-in or, once it has opened, choose one for free among the remaining available seats.
Since February 11, however, they are automatically allocated a seat when checking in – and required to pay if they wish to change it.
Standard and Flex ticket holders are not affected by the change, nor are those who have a Flying Blue frequent flyer membership with Ultimate, Platinum, Gold or Silver status.
Corporate passengers, large group bookings (10+) and disabled passengers are also not impacted.
Droughts are becoming more common in parts of FranceLabellepatine/Shutterstock
Communes in the west of France affected by flooding during recent storms benefited from an accelerated process to be declared as natural disaster (catastrophe naturelle) zones.
“All the municipalities affected – the regional prefect has already identified more than 20 – will be able to access this system,” said Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau during a visit to the area.
Parts of Brittany and Pays de la Loire saw near-historic flooding following the passages of Storms Eowyn, Herminia, and Ivo at the start of the year.
It can take months for communes to be declared as such following a natural disaster – a designation needed to claim on insurance.
However during particularly damaging events government authorities can bypass certain requirements to declare communes as affected more quickly.
Bordeaux changes street light hours to improve public safety
Street lights in Bordeaux will stay on for longer at night to improve public safety.
Local residents had complained about the danger of travelling at night, particularly after 01:00 when many lights were switched off.
The city initiated a policy in January 2023 that saw many street lights turned off at 01:00 to reduce light pollution and improve biodiversity for nocturnal animals.
It also helped reduce the city’s energy bill by 26% and resulted in more than €1million in savings during the energy crisis.
However, the city will partially backtrack on this measure from March 31.
An increased number of ‘strategic’ street lights will remain on overnight while the others, around 55%, will stay on until 02:30 instead of 01:00. Those that are off will then light at 05:00 to facilitate morning travellers before turning off again when it is light enough.
Police in Brittany have issued a warning to residents over a new technique burglars are using to check if you are away from home.
It consists of placing a blank sheet of A4 paper in the letterbox, and checking to see which residents do not remove it.
Social media reports appear to confirm the practice has become relatively widespread in Brittany, with many users puzzled by the seemingly innocuous blank sheets of paper.
Between January 22 and 23, Quimper police received five telephone calls about them.
Police advise residents to check their letterbox regularly and that of neighbours who are absent.
Public transport in the Aix-Marseille metropolitan area in south-east France is to be free for those over 65 and under 10 from September 1.
It will apply to the area’s buses, trams, metros and coaches, as well as the maritime shuttles (in season) and the TERs (within Marseille city limits).
The free travel will be available to around 240,000 children under the age of 10 and 500,000 people over the age of 65, at an estimated cost to the metropolitan area of €7-10million.
Those travelling for free will still need to get a ticket and validate it, but there will be no charge.
Paris has joined Marseille in banning keyboxes from being attached to public street furniture such as gates and lampposts.
Keyboxes – opened with a code or key – are often used by people who rent out short-term holiday lets such as on Airbnb to allow guests to access a property at any time.
However, in large numbers the keyboxes can be unsightly, disrupt the running of public infrastructure (such as a lamppost repair), and are – Paris authorities argue – helping to fuel the illegal letting of short-term rentals by landlords who do not have the correct city permits.
A decree published in late January gave owners of key boxes 15 days to remove them from street furniture.
Non-European tourists visiting the Louvre will need to pay an additional tariff from 2026, as part of plans for the museum’s ‘New Renaissance’.
Extensive restoration works estimated to cost up to €900million were announced by President Macron in January.
Only ‘a very small part” of this sum will be directly financed by the state, a spokesperson of the president said. The rest will come from increased ticket prices, a fundraising drive and other measures.
The rate, which is not yet known, will apply to all visitors from outside the EU from January 1, 2026.
France’s health advisory authority is recommending that pneumococcal vaccine coverage be extended to cover all people aged 65 and over, and not just those with comorbidities.
It comes amid a rise in cases of pneumococcal pneumonia in France, which has a fatality rate of 10% in hospitals. Older patients are particularly affected.
A vaccine has been recommended for people aged 65 and over with comorbidities since July 2023, but now the Haute autorité de sante (HAS) wants this widened to include everyone in the age group.
The seasonal vaccine is administered in a single dose, and can be given concurrently alongside other vaccines such as against Covid and flu.
It is up to the French Health Ministry to decide if they wish to follow the recommendation (historically it usually does).
It means for people aged 65 and over, four vaccines – against Covid, influenza, shingles, and now pneumococcus – and one booster (DTP, diphtheria, tetanus and polio) are recommended.
Disposable e-cigarettes could soon be outlawed in France after MPs voted unanimously in favour of a ban on the products.
The law will ban “the possession for the purpose of sale, distribution or offering free of charge [e-cigarettes that are] pre-filled with liquid and which cannot be refilled, whether or not they have a rechargeable battery.”
Reusable vapes are not affected by the ban.
The law banning the sale of ‘puffs’ – as they are known in France – now only requires approval by the Senate for it to be implemented. The upper chamber already submitted a copy of the law in early 2024, and a mixed committee of both MPs and senators approved the ban, meaning it is all but certain to be passed.
France will follow northern neighbour Belgium, which banned disposable e-cigarettes this January.
