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France adjusts consumer prices and benefits

The second half of 2013 brings a raft of changes to French consumers and taxpayers on Monday. From VAT and mobile phone charges to tobacco and health insurance, The Local breaks down what’s up and what’s down in France, starting on July 1st.

Published: 1 July 2013 08:29 CEST
France adjusts consumer prices and benefits
Mobile roaming charges, access to universal health care, jobless benefits, and the price of a pack of cigarettes: how have they all been affected by across-the-board changes in France.

Mobile phone charges

This one could have the most immediate and consistent impact on consumers. An EU Commission project to eradicate roaming charges in Europe for mobile phone users by 2014 begins on Monday.

That means anyone travelling home to the UK or Ireland, or visiting France, or indeed moving about throughout the EU, can expect drastic cuts in the cost of communicating with your mobile phone.

Downloading data or browsing the internet on your smartphone now costs a maximum of 45 cents per megabyte, a 36-percent drop from last year.

Making calls between EU countries will now set you back 24 cents per minute, a 17-percent decrease from 2012, while receiving calls costs seven cents per minute – 12.5-percent cut.

The cost of sending an SMS, or text message, drops 11 percent from last year to eight cents, though none of these pricing changes take into account VAT.

Unemployment insurance

For those starting a CDD (contrat à durée determinée) or temporary contract, on or after Monday, employers will pay more towards their unemployment insurance.

The employer’s contribution will increase from four percent to seven percent for jobs lasting less than one month, to 5.5 percent for jobs lasting more than three months, and to 4.5 percent for ‘CDD d’usage’, which apply to specific jobs in, for example, the creative and audiovisual sectors.

Unemployment benefits

As the ranks of the unemployed in France swell to 3.26 million, Monday brings some much-needed good news.

Unemployment allowance for around 1.5 million of those receiving benefits will increase by between seven and  17 cents per day.

The increase, which will affect two thirds of those currently receiving jobless benefits, means payments will go from the equivalent of €28.21 per day to €28.38, for those on the lowest allowance.

Cost of tobacco

As The Local reported in June, the cost of a pack of cigarettes in France will rise on Monday by 20 cents, with a packet of rolling tobacco now 40 cents more expensive.

Health Minister Marisol Touraine has forecast a further 20-cent hike in October, meaning that most packets of cigarettes will break the seven-euro barrier by this autumn.

Wider access to universal health care

The income ceiling for access to France’s CMU (couverture maladie universelle), or universal health care system, will increase significantly starting from Monday, by 8.3 percent.

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ENERGY

EXPLAINED: How high will heating bills be this winter in Germany?

The cost of energy is expected to rise again this coming winter, even though the government's price cap is supposed to be in effect until April 2024. Here's what households can expect.

Published: 31 October 2023 10:31 CET
Updated: 5 November 2023 22:45 CET
EXPLAINED: How high will heating bills be this winter in Germany?

The onset of winter will raise concerns for many in Germany about the cost of heating their homes, with memories of last year’s rocketing prices and concerns over domestic gas supply resurfacing. 

But, compared to last year, the energy prices have now largely stabilised, though they are still higher than in 2021.

The stabilisation in prices is partly thanks to the government’s energy price cap which came into force earlier this year to cushion the blow of soaring energy prices by capping electricity costs at 40 cents per kilowatt-hour and natural gas at 12 cents.

READ ALSO: Germany looks to extend energy price cap until April 2024

The federal government plans to maintain this cap until the end of April, though this could be extended even longer, if necessary. 

How high are heating costs expected to go this year?

For the current year, experts from co2online expect somewhat lower heating costs than last year.

Heating with gas, for example, is expected to be 11 percent cheaper in 2023 than in 2022, costing €1,310 per year for a flat of 70 square metres. 

The cost of heating with wood pellets will drop by 17 percent to €870 per year, and heating with heating oil will cost 19 percent less and amount to €1,130.

According to co2online, the costs for heating with a heat pump will drop the most – by 20 percent to €1,1105. The reason for this, according to co2online, is a wider range of heat pump electricity tariffs.

Tax hikes in January

Starting January next year, the government will raise the value-added tax on natural gas from seven to nineteen percent.

Alongside this, the CO2 price, applicable when refuelling and heating, will also increase.

According to energy expert Thomas Engelke from the Federal Consumer Association, these increases will mean that a small single-family household with three or four people that heats with gas would then pay about €240 more per year for gas.

“That’s a lot”, he said. 

Another additional cost factor to consider is that network operators also want to raise prices. However, the federal government plans to allocate €5.5 billion to cushion this increase for consumers as much as possible, so how such cost increases will ultimately affect consumers is currently hard to estimate.

READ ALSO: Why people in Germany are being advised to switch energy suppliers

Overall, it can be said that, from January, consumers will have to brace themselves for higher energy costs, even though massive increases are currently not expected.

Consumer advocate Engelke advised customers to closely examine where potential savings could be made this upcoming winter: “Those who are now signing a new gas or electricity contract should inform themselves and possibly switch. Currently, you can save a few hundred euros. It’s worth it. On the other hand, you should also try to save as much energy as possible this winter.”

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