A series of changes. As of this Sunday, May 1, the minimum wage and various social benefits benefit from a revaluation linked to the high inflation recorded in France for several months. The remuneration of public officials is also affected by this automatic increase. On the expenditure side, the price of gas remains unchanged because it has been frozen by the government and the price of certain cigarettes is even down.
An automatic increase for the minimum wage
France continues to experience inflation, which reached 4.8% over one year according to the latest estimate from INSEE. What cause, as provided by law, a revaluation of the minimum wage by 2.65% on May 1. This boost, which concerns just over 2 million employees in France, according to the Ministry of Labor, is around thirty euros. Indeed, for a full-time job, the monthly minimum wage now stands at 1,645.58 euros gross. Or a net monthly remuneration that goes from 1,269 to 1,302.64 euros. As for the gross hourly minimum wage, it increased by 28 cents to reach 10.85 euros.
Mechanically, this rise in the minimum wage causes a revaluation of the point ofminimum index for agents of the State, territorial and hospital public service, in order to prevent their salary from being lower than the minimum wage. The salary of the agents concerned will thus amount to 1,649.48 euros gross monthly for full-time, against 1,607.31 euros so far.
A boost for social assistance
To a lesser extent, some state aid is also increasing. An increase of 1.8% will be applied to family allowances, the activity bonus, the active solidarity income (RSA) or even the allowances for disabled adults (AAH).
It should also be noted that the back-to-school allowance (ARS), paid in August, is affected by this increase. According to the Family Allowance Fund, the ARS will now amount to 376.98 euros for children aged 6 to 10, 397.78 euros for those aged 11 to 14 and will reach 411.56 euros for teenagers aged 15 to 18.
Better rewards for trainees in vocational training
A new remuneration system comes into force for job seekers undergoing training. This scale is valid for all courses approved by the Region or the State and sets the remuneration according to the age of the trainees. Thus, the gratuity will be 200 euros for 16-18 year olds, instead of 130 euros currently. For trainees aged 18 to 25, it will amount to 500 euros. In the end, it will reach 685 euros per month for people aged 26 and over.
Drop in the price of certain brands of cigarettes
It’s quite rare, but several brands of cigarettes including Lucky Strike, Rothmans, Vogue and even Winfield have seen their prices drop by 10 cents on average at tobacconists. Please note that not all products of these brands are affected. Conversely, some references now cost slightly more. Rolling tobacco is not affected by this price update, the last occurrence of which took place on March 1, as recalled by the Customs website.
Black boxes for new cars
As with planes, trucks and buses, personal vehicles placed on the market must now be equipped with a black box, i.e. a measurement system capable of recording vehicle parameters (driving , seat belt use, GPS location, engine condition) a few seconds before an accident, in order to be analyzed afterwards.
This measure aims to better understand road accidents, in order to ultimately reduce them, hopes the European Parliament, which voted for this obligation in 2019. The government specifies that this measure will be extended to all cars, including used vehicles , in 2024.
Pay attention to deadlines for taxes and student grant applications
May is also the deadline for declaring income for the past year. For declarations in paper format, you have until May 19, regardless of your place of residence. Electronic declarants have until May 24 for the inhabitants of departments ranging from 01 to 19, until May 31 for departments 20 to 54 and until June 8 for those who live in departments 55 to 976.
Finally, the revisions of the baccalaureate and partials must not make students of the year 2022-2023 forget that they have until May 15 to complete their student social file (DSE). Without this, it is impossible to hope to benefit from a scholarship based on social criteria or accommodation in a university residence.