Duration of unemployment benefit, price of motorway tolls, anti-covid measures, electricity price… Here’s what’s changing on 1 February.
Unemployment insurance
The reform allows for a 25% reduction in the duration of compensation for all jobseekers who open rights from 1 February. An unemployed person who would have been entitled to, for example, 12 months’ compensation under the current scheme, will only be entitled to nine months. A minimum floor of six months will be maintained.
For jobseekers who have their compensation duration reduced, a “termination allowance” (an extension of the duration) is given in the event of a deterioration in the labor market, if unemployment exceeds 9% or if it increases by 0.8 points or more over a quarter.
Motorway tolls
Toll rates for the main motorway networks will increase by 4.75% on average, a stronger increase than in recent years (+2% in 2022, +0.4 in 2021, +0.8% in 2020, +1.9% in 2019), but still lower than inflation.
Vinci is making a change to motorway tolls for short journeys
This annual increase, stipulated in the contracts of the various concessionaires after a calculation that takes into account a proportion of inflation and any works, will be accompanied by commercial measures at several motorway companies. Electric vehicles will thus benefit from a 5% reduction for one year on all their journeys on the Sanef/SAPN and APRR/AREA networks.
covid
Created at the start of the 2020 health crisis “to limit the spread of the epidemic”, extraordinary work stoppages without a waiting day for people who have tested positive for Covid-19 will no longer be possible.
Falling out of use on the back of declining cases, “systematic isolation” of positive cases and “conducting a test” after two days for their contacts will no longer be required.
Finally, the follow-up of “contact cases”, via the “Covid-contact” service, administered by Sygesikringen, will definitively cease.
Electricity
The freeze on the regulated electricity tariff ends for 23 million subscribers, including 1.45 million small professionals. They will be subject to an average increase contained of +15% by the government as part of the tariff shield.
Taxis and VTC
Taxi fares will increase by a maximum of 4% on February 1, while the minimum fare will remain at €7.30.
On the VTC side, drivers will have a guaranteed minimum amount of 7.65 euros per trip, which will increase the price of the smallest trip to around 10.20 euros for the passenger on an application like Uber, including the fees.
Booklet A and LDD
Interest rates on Livret A and Livret de développement durable et solidaire (LDD) will rise to 3% against 2% currently from February 1, a level higher than seen since 2009 but still significantly below inflation.
As for the People’s Savings Book (LEP) rate, which is reserved for people with modest incomes (a maximum of €21,393 per year for a single person), it goes from 4.6% to 6.1%.
AFP
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