IDF region: who will be able to benefit from the "energy boost" up to 250 euros?

Europe 1 with AFP // photo credit: Hannes Albert / DPA / dpa Picture-Alliance via AFP 14:01 p.m., May 31, 2023

The Ile-de-France region will adopt an "energy boost" of 250 euros for the most vulnerable Ile-de-France households in the face of the energy crisis, we learned Wednesday at a plenary session of the regional council. This aid will benefit households in the Paris region with a tax income less than or equal to 60% of the median regional tax income, i.e. 14,802 euros. Worth €45 million in the 2023 supplementary budget, it will be financed by the European Social Fund (ESF) and is expected to benefit 160,000 tax households.

"Not one euro of European funds will be lost, because we must consume our ESF envelope by December and that 8% of these credits have not been consumed because of the Covid crisis," assured the LR president of the regional executive, Valérie Pécresse. On average, household energy bills have increased by around 30% in 2023, according to the Region. Ile-de-France residents will be able to apply to benefit from this system via a platform that will be put online on its website from 1 July.

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First come, first served

"This boost is welcome, but with a budget surplus of 356 million euros, it was possible to do more for the purchasing power of all Ile-de-France residents by cancelling, for example, the increase in the Imagine R card and catering in high schools," the leader of the communist elected representatives told AFP. Celine Malaisé. The scheme funded by the European Union "must be applied for between 1 July and 1 October only. The principle of first come, first served was retained. This raises questions for us," she added. The text will be adopted on Thursday at the regional council's standing committee.