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Change for the new year. Many schemes will see their conditions and prices change from Thursday January 1st. This is particularly the case for regulated remuneration, such as the minimum wage, pensions or internship allowances. Increases limited to inflation, while the prices of stamps, cigarettes or energy are also increasing. However, due to the lack of a budget adopted by Parliament, certain measures remain pending. Franceinfo takes stock.
The minimum wage increases by 17 euros net per month
A revaluation without a boost. The minimum wage increases by 1.18% on January 1, and goes from 1,801.80 to 1,823.03 euros gross per month, and from 11.88 to 12.02 euros gross per hour. The gain for an employee paid the minimum wage working full time will be a little less than 17 euros net per month. This is a purely mechanical increase, partly linked to inflation.
At the same time, the remuneration of around 356,000 civil servants, out of the approximately 5.8 million civil service employees, will be slightly increased to prevent them from being paid below the minimum wage, the Ministry of Public Accounts said on Tuesday. Their minimum treatment, hitherto set at 1,801.74 euros gross, will increase by 21.23 euros, via a “differential compensation”that is to say a bonus, rather than an increase in base salary.
Basic retirement pensions and social minimums will also increase by 0.9% on January 1. Contrary to what was initially planned, the Social Security financing law for 2026 does not include a freeze on pensions, they will therefore be revalued according to the legal rule of indexation to inflation, specifies the government. Finally, the minimum bonus granted to trainees increases from 4.35 to 4.50 euros per hour.
Stamp prices up on average 7.4%
Postage prices for letters and parcels are increasing by an average of 7.4%. In detail, the green letter increases to 1.52 euros against 1.39 euros, a jump of 9.35%. The price of the red e-letter, for urgent items delivered the next day, will be increased from 1.49 to 1.60 euros. The price of a 20g registered letter will be increased from 5.74 to 6.11 euros. Finally, the prices of Colissimo sent by individuals will increase on average by 3.4%.
La Poste justifies this net increase in postage rates by the necessity “to ensure the sustainability of the universal postal service with high quality” while the continued decline in the number of letters transported has been reducing the public group’s revenues for years.
Donations between individuals must be declared online
The procedure for reporting donations between individuals to the tax administration is evolving. Until now, it was possible to make a paper declaration to your public finance center. But from Thursday, the declaration will be made only online, from the specific space on impots.gouv, warns the Public service platformwhich details the procedure to follow. Only donations considered “important” must be declared, adds the site: monetary donations of several thousand euros, valuable objects and shares.
A new birth leave
Good news for some parents. Those whose baby is born from Thursday will be able to benefit from the new birth leave provided for in the Social Security budget. The Ministry of Health, however, stressed that the birth leave would not come into force as planned on January 1, but on July 1. Parents of children born or adopted on January 1 will therefore have to take this leave deferred.
This system is in addition to maternity leave (sixteen weeks) and paternity leave (twenty-eight days), with a higher level of compensation than current parental leave, which has also been maintained. Its duration will be one or two months, at the employee’s choice, and it can be divided into two one-month periods. The amount of compensation must be fixed by decree. During parliamentary debates, the executive announced that it would amount to 70% of the net salary in the first month and 60% in the second.
The MaPrimeRénov’ counter suspended
The window of the MaPrimeRénov’ energy renovation aid system is suspended, due to lack of a budget adopted by Parliament before the end of 2025. The special law, passed to compensate for the absence of a real finance law, only ensures the continuity of the functioning of the State, but “blocks any non-contractual expenditure”explained the Minister of Housing.
“Without a budget, we will not be able to disburse the money, added Vincent Jeanbrun. So we are not going to open a window and say: ‘Submit your applications and then we will tell you in two months, in three months if we are able to finance them or not’. It wouldn’t make sense.”
Reinforced technical control
The technical inspection will have to establish, from Thursday, whether the vehicle has a Takata airbag classified as “stop drive”. If this is the case, the owner will have to undergo a second inspection, “because of the potentially fatal danger it represents”and the vehicle “will no longer be allowed to drive until it is repaired”details the Ministry of Transport.
Around 1.3 million affected vehicles are still on the road despite the danger, according to the ministry. This procedure already exists for the most serious defects, such as the absence of braking and mirrors.
Pink license plates
A touch of pink on the roads of France. New, very colorful license plates will appear. They will be installed on vehicles “new before final registration”those “registered abroad awaiting French registration” or even “professionals undergoing road tests”specifies the interministerial delegation for road safety.
The objective is to be able to identify and control these vehicles more easily, while certain motorists continued to use these temporary plates beyond the maximum duration of four months. These new plates will also mention the month and year of the end of their validity, instead of the regional identifier and the department number.
An experiment in the reimbursement of tests to detect a chemical submission
A step forward in the fight against sexual violence. In three French regions (Ile-de-France, Hauts-de-France and Pays de la Loire), medical analyzes to detect a chemical submission will be reimbursed by Health Insurance, even in the absence of a prior complaint. However, you will need a prescription from a doctor. A “patient journey” will allow you to file a complaint in the event of a positive result. An evaluation report will decide on the possible generalization of the measure throughout France.
A more advantageous DPE for homes heated with electricity
Another modification for the energy performance diagnosis. This time, the new calculation must be favorable to small areas heated with electricity. These were until now disadvantaged compared to properties with a gas boiler. According to the government, this reform should remove 700,000 of the 5.4 million housing units classified F or G in the DPE from the energy sieve category. No need to go through a technician again to obtain the label change: simply download a certificate directly on the Ademe website.
A civic exam for foreigners wishing to settle in France
New conditions for obtaining a multi-year residence permit, a resident permit or French naturalization. Foreigners must now have passed a civic exam. This test will take the form of a multiple choice questionnaire with 40 questions, which must be answered in 45 minutes. To pass the exam, you must have obtained at least 32 correct answers. It aims in particular to assess knowledge of the principles and values of the Republic, as well as the rights and duties of people residing in France.
An increase of 13 euros in the gas subscription
Even if the price of the kilowatt hour decreases very slightly, the price of the gas subscription increases by 13.10 euros over the year 2026, according to the Energy Regulatory Commission. This increase concerns both households heating with gas and those using it only to heat water in the kitchen and bathroom.
New electricity prices for EDF’s competitors
A technical change whose consequences remain uncertain. Arenh, the system which obliges EDF to cede around a quarter of its annual nuclear production to its competitors at a very advantageous price, ended on December 31, 2025. It is replaced by a new system which gives EDF the option to sell its nuclear production more freely, depending on market prices, up to a certain limit. If some anticipate an increase in bills for customers who have not subscribed to regulated electricity prices, the government wants to be reassuring and anticipates prices “stable at least in 2026 and 2027”.
Products containing banned “eternal pollutants”
Fewer PFAS in your cupboards. As of Thursday, cosmetics, ski waxes as well as clothing, shoes and their waterproofing agents containing “eternal pollutants” will be banned from manufacture, sale and import into France. These substances were highly prized by manufacturers for their non-stick properties, and effective against humidity and heat. But these chemical molecules are also very resistant in the environment and can have harmful consequences on health.
The prices of certain packs of cigarettes are increasing
A new increase in cigarette prices concerns many brands from January 1, 2026, according to the list available on the customs website. If a national program to combat smoking provided for a price of a pack of cigarettes of at least 13 euros in 2026, this should ultimately be the case in 2027.
