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LIVING IN FRANCE

Prices for sending letters and parcels in France to increase in 2025

It will be a more expensive to send a letter both inside of and from France in 2025, according to a recent announcement by French national postal service, La Poste.

Published: 24 July 2024 12:30 CEST
Prices for sending letters and parcels in France to increase in 2025
A logo of La Poste on a French post office window in Paris, on January 10, 2024. (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD / AFP)

Starting in 2025, French postal and shipping services will increase by 6.8 percent on average, French news service BFMTV reported on Wednesday.

Prices for letters

The most common, classic letter format (lettre verte at 20g) currently costs €1.29, but it will increase to €1.39 in 2025. 

A registered letter (lettre recommandée) which provides proof to the sender that it has been delivered, currently costs €5.36 but will increase to €5.74.

READ MORE: Lettre recommandée: Why you need them and how to send them in France

The ‘service plus’ option, which sends your letter or small package within two days (in France), includes tracking notifications via SMS or email. This currently costs €2.99 and will go up to €3.15.

As for the starting rate for basic international letters, Le Figaro reported this would increase from €1.96 to €2.10, while the online service ‘E-Letters’ (e-lettre rouge) will remain the same, as will simple tracked letters (lettre suivie).

Prices for parcels

Prices for parcels sent by private individuals are set to increase on average by 5.2 percent “for all destinations”, La Poste announced.

It is still not clear exactly how this will break down, but the group specified that increases will be limited to 3.1 percent for ‘direct marketing prices for businesses’. 

Why the increase?

La Poste has already increased prices in the past year, having raised stamp prices by 8.3 percent in January.

The group told the French press they are raising prices again in an effort to “ensure the sustainability of the universal postal service with high quality in a context of inflation and falling mail volumes.”

With a decline in people sending letters, this part of the postal service only accounts for 15 percent of the company’s turnover, whereas in 1990 letters accounted for over 70 percent.

Households have also been spending less on postal services. In 2015, the average French household spent €48 a year, while in 2024 that amount was €29 a year.

According to BFMTV, La Poste has accumulated a deficit of 6 billion, and the group is now seeking to increase and diversify its revenues by focusing on packages (eg the subsidiaries DPD, Colissimo and Chronpost), as well as food and meal deliveries, mainly for the elderly.

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LIVING IN FRANCE

What are the rules on home exchanges in France?

Home exchanges are an up-and-coming way to spend a holiday, offering a low-cost alternative to Airbnb and hotels. Here are the rules about them in France.

Published: 29 August 2024 08:11 CEST
What are the rules on home exchanges in France?

Home exchanges are becoming popular across the world.

They represent a budget-friendly alternative to renting a hotel room or an Airbnb, where one person swaps their home with another for a short period of time. 

Many people will do so using a website, such as HomeExchange, Kindred or Swaphouse. These platforms usually offer some sort of vetting, such as asking for proof of ID and address.

What are the rules in France?

France has strict rules about renting, including for short-term rentals. In many cases, you would need to register with local authorities, and pay tax on your earnings.

READ MORE: What you need to know about renting out your French property on Airbnb

As for home exchanges, they are not regulated. As long as there is no money being exchanged, then it is more or less equivalent to inviting a friend to come stay at your house.

According to the French insurance company Allianz, “home exchanges are not taxable, as no financial transaction takes place between hosts and guests in this context.”

Both owners and tenants can engage in ‘home swaps’, but tenants must inform the landlord, according to the French government website Service-Public.

Tenants should also check to verify that there is not a clause in the lease preventing home exchanges.

If you do not go through a website that creates a formal, signed agreement, you should make one yourself. Be sure to specify the dates of the home exchange, as well as other expectations.

Home insurance

The main aspect you will need to consider is your home insurance contract and how to protect yourself from any possible damage.

The first step would be to check your home insurance contract to see whether home exchanges are covered. If so, you simply need to inform them of the identity of the occupants who will be staying in your home.

If your insurance does not cover home exchanges, then you should contact them to negotiate a new amendment, which would involve adding a supplementary document to your contract.

For those using an online platform to facilitate the exchange, you should also read the terms and conditions for the website for damages and responsibility.

READ MORE: A beginner’s guide to renting property in France

You may want to request that the family staying in your home have a ‘holiday civil liability’ insurance (garantie responsabilité civile villégiature). This could cover them in the event of a fire or water damage.

As for yourself, you will want to ensure that the other party has informed their insurance company you are staying in their home and purchase a holiday civil liability cover for yourself as well.

This may already be part of your home insurance, and if not you may be able to add it on.

Swimming pools

If you own a swimming pool, be sure it is up to all safety standards. If there is an accident and you have not followed the safety rules, then you could be held liable.

READ MORE: What rules do swimming pool owners in France have to follow?

French construction and housing code specifies that personal pools should be fitted with at least one of these four standard safety devices;

  • Fencing or walling around the pool, with access by a gate which can be locked (so for example if you have a pool in your garden you should make sure that the garden has a fence or wall around it with a lockable door or gate)
  • Alarms fitted which go off when the water is disturbed
  • Pool covers fitted that meet safety standards (ie can be walked on without the person falling in)
  • Pool shelters (eg a rigid cover, roof or folding roof) that meet safety standards.

All of the above must meet French or EU standards – and you can be fined up to €45,000 if your pool does comply with safety regulations. You can find more specific rules for each safety device here.

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