Like every year, January 1st is the occasion for several changes.
If some changes, such as gas, are regular, the new year also brings other changes that can affect the daily or professional life of the French.
The main changes for the year 2021 can be found here.
The year 2021 opens with the traditional increases in the price of gas and stamps but also with the entry into force of several reforms.
A further reduction in the housing tax, the establishment of a repairability index, as well as several measures intended to promote more eco-responsible behavior are coming into force.
Europe 1 explains to you what are the main changes of January 1, 2021.
Daily life: rising gas prices and stamps
Stamps
.
Mail rates increase by 4.7% on average on January 1 and all ordinary stamps now cost more than one euro.
The price of the green stamp - for a mail delivered within 48 hours in mainland France - for individuals goes from 97 cents to 1.08 euros (+ 11.3%) and that of the red stamp - for a priority letter theoretically distributed the next day - from 1.16 to 1.28 euros (+ 10.3%).
As for the "Ecopli" - the cheapest formula for a dispatch in four days on average, with a gray stamp -, it increases by 95 cents to 1.06 euro (+ 11.6%).
Gas
.
Engie's regulated gas sales tariffs also increased by 0.2% on average.
Automatic revaluation of the minimum wage
Smic
.
The minimum wage is up 0.99% on January 1 to reach 1,554.58 euros gross per month, an increase of 15 euros.
This increase, which corresponds to the automatic revaluation of the minimum wage, brings the gross hourly amount to 10.25 euros.
Housing: reform of APL and housing tax
Housing tax
.
The wealthiest 20% of households will start to see their housing tax decrease this year.
Those who are paid monthly will see this drop of 30% from January.
In 2023, no French will pay housing tax for their main residence.
Housing assistance
.
The reform of housing assistance (APL) must adapt the amount of housing assistance according to the beneficiary's current income and no longer to those collected two years earlier.
They will be calculated on the basis of his current income or, more precisely, of those collected in the previous twelve months with an update every three months.
Health: reimbursements for hearing aids and reimbursement for homeopathy
Hearing aids.
The last stage of the "100% health" reform started in 2019 comes into force.
Entry-level devices ("class 1") will be sold for 950 euros each and will be fully reimbursed by Social Security and complementary health insurance.
For more sophisticated models ("class 2"), prices will remain free and reimbursement may vary from 400 to 1,700 euros.
Homeopathy
.
Homeopathic specialties and preparations will no longer be covered by Health Insurance.
Their repayment rate had already been lowered from 30% to 15% at the start of 2020.
Aid for electric vehicles and energy renovation
Electric charging stations.
Owner or tenant households who install charging stations for electric vehicles in the parking space of their main residence can benefit from a new tax credit.
This system capped at 300 euros and 75% of the cost of the installation, succeeds the energy transition tax credit (CITE).
"My renovation bonus"
.
The "my prime renov" energy renovation scheme has been extended.
A transitional mechanism already made the quotes eligible from October 2020.
Transport: penalty for polluting cars and marking of bicycles
Auto penalty
.
The auto penalty is increased for vehicles emitting the most CO2.
The threshold for triggering the purchase penalty has been lowered to 133 gCO2 / km, compared to 138 currently.
The maximum purchase penalty goes from 20,000 to 30,000 euros for the most polluting vehicles, above 219 gCO2 / km.
Buyers of electrics or hybrids, on the other hand, are favored by the extension of public aid until July 1, 2021, up to 7,000 euros for an electric car.
In addition, paper advertising on vehicles is now prohibited.
Marking of bikes
.
New bikes sold in stores must bear a "unique identifier" to which the owner's details will be attached, in order to fight against theft but also to find the owners when the bike reappears.
Evolution of the Covid solidarity fund and production taxes
Solidarity fund
.
Compensation of up to 1,500 euros per month provided to small businesses and self-employed workers affected by the Covid-19 crisis, regardless of their sector of activity, ended on December 31.
The fund is now reserved for companies in the most penalized sectors (catering, leisure, etc.), with an increased amount.
Production taxes
.
Long denounced by employers, production taxes paid by companies have fallen by 10 billion euros, with the halving of the contribution on the added value of companies (CVAE), or -7 billion euros, and the reduction by half of property taxes (CFE) weighing on industrial sites (-3.3 billion).
New constraints for companies
Customs formalities
.
With Brexit, border controls between France and Great Britain, which is definitively leaving the Customs Union, have been re-established.
Exporting companies will have to complete customs formalities, or even pay customs duties, as when they export products outside the European Union.
Unsold gifts
.
The unsold donation obligations are extended to wholesalers with a turnover of over 50 million euros.
Donation monitoring and quality control procedures become mandatory.
Additional measures for ecology
Air quality
.
The new air quality index now includes fine particles (PM2.5) with the four other regulated pollutants aggregated by the current index (PM10 particles, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide).
At least at each intermunicipal level, the French can thus know every day the quality of the air they breathe, from "good" to "extremely bad".
New plastic products prohibited
.
Plastic straws, cutlery, stirrers, sandwich boxes, drink lids, balloon stems, confetti and steak sticks are now banned.
A six-month period is reserved for distributors to sell their stocks.
Companies and public establishments will no longer be able to distribute plastic bottles.
Repairability index
.
A score out of 10, affixed to the products, their packaging or close to the price indicates their repairability index.
The goal is to achieve a 60% repair rate for electrical and electronic products.
Five pilot products have been designated: washing machines, televisions, smartphones, laptops and lawn mowers.