Between them, these booklets accounted for 509.7 billion euros on December 31, 2022, a record amount, against 469.7 billion at the end of 2021.

It is an "excellent vintage", underlines Philippe Crevel, director of the Circle of savings.

In detail, in 2022 French savers deposited 33.49 billion euros more in Livrets A and Livrets de développement durable et solidaire (LDDS) than they withdrew, a level comparable to 2020 ( €35.21 billion).

But the interest paid for last year (6.56 billion euros) is higher than that for 2020, mainly due to the double rise in rates, increased from 0.5% to 1% on February 1 and then to 2% on August 1.

The total therefore constitutes a record since 2012, a prosperous year for the two booklets.

They had then aggregated 49.16 billion euros in net collection and 6.62 billion in interest, thanks to an increase in the deposit ceiling.

"Safe investment"

Regulated savings, such as the Livret A and LDDS savings accounts, but also the Livret d'épargne populaire, have once again been on the rise since the beginning of last year.

The month of December, although usually not very buoyant, is an illustration of this, with 2.69 billion euros added in total to the first two.

The "anxiogenic context linked to the war in Ukraine and the resurgence of inflation" contributed to the "excellent results" of fundraising, observes Mr. Crevel, who notes that in "periods of trouble and uncertainty, the French save by favoring the safe haven represented by the Livret A".

The rise in prices also encourages the French to look for more profitable savings products, for example by moving money dormant in current accounts to their Livret A savings accounts.

Soon at 3%

These two booklets also no longer have to be ashamed of life insurance funds in euros, quite the contrary.

The rates of the latter for 2022 are expected on average between 1.80% and 1.90%, according to Cyrille Chartier-Kastler, founder of the firm Facts & Figures.

Booklet A © / AFP

As a result, life insurance collection is slipping.

Between January and November, deposits only exceeded withdrawals by 13.7 billion euros, according to the professional federation France Assureurs.

And the Livret A has a trump card up its sleeve.

On February 1, 2023, its rate will be increased to 3%, a first since 2009.

The money deposited in Livret A and LDDS accounts is guaranteed by the State, exempt from taxes and social security contributions.

Withdrawals are totally free, free of charge and possible at any time.

The only brake: deposits are capped at 22,950 euros for the first and 12,000 euros for the second.

Managed jointly by the Caisse des dépôts and the banking networks, the Livret A is mainly used to finance social housing, while the LDDS is dedicated to the social and solidarity economy as well as to energy savings in housing.

© 2023 AFP