Recap French news: animal train tickets, insect-based pet food

Animal train tickets

Train operator SNCF has introduced uniform ticket prices for pets, meaning many owners will pay less than before.

Taking a pet on a TGV Inoui, Intercité or TER train will now cost €7, regardless of size, whereas previously animals over 6kg cost half the price of a second-class ticket, calculated according to the kilometres travelled.

The price for Ouigo trains is €10.

Larger dogs which do not fit in a basket must be muzzled for the journey.

Guide dogs can still travel for free without a ticket.

Insect-based pet food

Monoprix is to trial a range of insect-based dog and cat food in selected stores.

The pet food is produced by start-up Reglo, which says 1kg of their product generates one per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions and requires 0.5 per cent of the water of an equivalent quantity of beef.

The line is also available via its website.

No-smoking beach

Le Touquet has become the latest town to ban smoking.

The northern town joins Nice, Marseille, La Rochelle and more in banning cigarettes during summer for health and environmental reasons.

The Ligue contre le cancer has published an interactive map allowing users to find out which public spaces near them are tobacco-free.

Red stamps to end

La Poste is discontinuing its timbre rouge red stamp for next-day delivery letters on January 1, saying demand for the service has fallen.

Read more: French post office confirms it is ending its next-day red stamp

Today, the green stamp (timbre vert) is the most widely used, costing €1.16 for letters up to 20g. These will now take three days instead of two.

The red stamp will be replaced by a digital e-lettre rouge costing €1.49 (compared to €1.43 today).

Documents of up to three pages can be sent through a website, then printed and distributed the next day.

Red stamps purchased before January 1 can still be used without a date limit in future, or exchanged in a post office.

Speeding law review

Motorists caught exceeding the speed limit by less than 5km/h may soon no longer lose points on their licence – though they will still face fines.

The Ministry of the Interior said it was reviewing speeding laws for minor violations, which currently make up more than 50% of points lost.

If the changes go ahead, they could come into force next year.

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