Nizza24 news from the French Riviera Monday December 30
2025: Here are all the updates on taxes, tariffs and social changes
This Wednesday January 1st brings many changes for French people or those residing in France, mostly negative ones regarding their wallets. Here’s a summary:
Use of meal vouchers in supermarkets limited
With the fall of Michel Barnier’s government in early December, and the interruption of all legislative work, the possibility of using meal vouchers in supermarkets to purchase food products such as flour, pasta, rice or meat could not be extended beyond December 31. This exemption had come into force in summer 2022 in the context of galloping inflation, then renewed at the end of 2023. On November 20, the National Assembly urgently adopted the extension of the device until the end of 2026. The text was supposed to reach the Senate on December 12.
This news is positively commented on by restaurateurs as those who use vouchers will be forced – precisely – to use them in restaurants, or buy terrible pre-packaged junk food at supermarkets. For those who prefer to eat healthy, buying salads, tomatoes or tuna, for example, no mercy: they will have to pay out of their own pocket.
All RSA beneficiaries registered with France Travail
Recipients of active solidarity income (RSA), namely 1.84 million people as of September 2024, will from Wednesday be registered with France Travail (compared to 40% today) and will have to sign a commitment contract, specifying social and professional integration objectives. With this reform, 1.2 million more people will be automatically registered as job seekers, including 200,000 young people in integration programs in local department missions.
These new job seekers will initially be placed in a newly created “waiting category”, called G, pending distribution into one of the categories A through F. As part of their commitment contract, RSA beneficiaries may have to perform 15 to 20 hours of weekly activities, including interviews, training, internships or company immersions.
Unemployment insurance: new rules agreement comes into effect
The agreement establishing the new unemployment benefit rules was validated in extremis on Friday by the new Prime Minister, François Bayrou. While the convention takes effect from this Wednesday, most measures will only be applied from April 1st “for operational reasons,” as specified by Unédic, which manages the unemployment insurance scheme.
This is particularly the case for raising by two years the age thresholds from which senior unemployed people benefit from a longer compensation period. The threshold that gives right to 22.5 months of compensation maximum thus passes from 53 to 55 years and that which gives right to 27 months from 55 to 57 years. Instead, the degressivity of unemployment benefits, which concerns high incomes, will no longer be applied from age 55, compared to 57 years until now.
The monthly payment of benefits will also come into effect from April 1st. The benefit paid will thus be identical each month, based on 30 days. Over a full year, the unemployed will lose five days of compensation (six in leap years).
Screen dangers for children included in health record
From January 1st, a new health record formula will inform parents about the risks that screen use represents for children, as announced in mid-November by the Minister of Health, Geneviève Darrieussecq, on franceinfo. “It’s important to explain to parents, who are on the front line, what the harmfulness of too much time in front of screens is,” she estimated. She had recalled the risk of desocialization, with young people “closed in their bubbles”, with the risk of generating “mental disorders and malaise”.
Basic pensions revalued by 2.2%
All basic pensions will increase by 2.2% from January 1st, at the level of inflation. This is an increase well above what had been programmed by the government in its Social Security budget.
By law, basic pensions are increased every year on January 1st, indexed to the average increase in consumer prices (excluding tobacco) noted by Insee for the previous year, from November to November. To contain the Social Security deficit (18 billion euros in 2024) the government wanted to derogate from these rules in 2025. After the motion of censure, the law has finally prevailed and the mechanical increase will indeed be 2.2%, according to the Ministry of Budget and Public Accounts.
G-rated housing can no longer be rented
The energy performance diagnosis (DPE) classifies housing from A to G according to their energy consumption and climate impact. On this basis, the 2021 Climate and Resilience Law provides for progressively banning the rental of energy-intensive housing. From Wednesday, G-rated housing can no longer be rented. This ban will extend to F-rated housing from 2028 and finally to E-rated housing from 2034.
A bill, presented at the end of October and supported then by the government, proposed to grant an extension for G-rated housing located in condominiums that have decided to do work but haven’t yet completed it. The text also provided for applying the rental ban only from renewal, tacit renewal of the contract or signing of a new contract. But with the censure of Prime Minister Michel Barnier, his replacement with François Bayrou, then the parliamentary holidays, examination of the text was interrupted.
A new increase for gas prices
The “reference price” of natural gas, published monthly by the Energy Regulation Commission (CRE), is rising again. For cooking/hot water use, the average rate goes up Wednesday to 0.146 euros including VAT per kilowatt hour. For heating, the average price will rise from 0.112 euros including VAT/kWh to 0.118 euros.
The CRE emphasizes that this “reference” price is only “indicative”. Suppliers therefore remain free to pass it on or not to their subscribers. The consumer can thus make competition work, referring for example to the Energy Mediator’s online comparator.
Housing savings plan rate decreasing
The interest rate on housing savings plans (PEL) opened from Wednesday will drop by half a point, to 1.75%, according to the Official Journal published on December 18. The rate of this regulated savings product, designed to enable a real estate project, is determined when the account is opened and remains the same throughout its lifetime. It hadn’t decreased since August 2016, when it fell from 1.50% to 1%. It was increased to 2% on January 1, 2023, then to 2.25% in 2024.
End of inter-file circulation for two-wheeled vehicles
Two and three-wheeled vehicles no longer have the right to slip between cars. Launched in 2016, extended to 21 departments in 2021, inter-file circulation ends. The practice, judged too risky, was supposed to end in September 2024, before being extended until December 2024, under strict conditions.
You heard right: in 2016 it was decided that it was legal for motorcycles to circulate not as we were taught in driving school – in a normal lane – but between cars straddling the stripes that delimit them. We don’t know if they had also declared weaving between vehicles legal, as common practice. In any case, it seems, the practice will now be forbidden.
Moreover, it is forbidden to circulate with a Crit’Air 3 vehicle from the low emission zones of Paris, Montpellier, Lyon and Grenoble. This affects petrol cars registered before 2006 and diesel vehicles registered before 2011. Exemptions are provided for workers on staggered hours or people who need care. In Paris, a pass will also allow Crit’Air 3 cars to circulate freely 24 days per year, by choice and without conditions.
A new increase in tobacco prices
Cigarette packs will cost more from January 1st. The increase, which differs according to manufacturers and products, could reach up to one euro more for a pack of 20 cigarettes. The majority of packs will thus exceed the threshold of 12.50 euros. Cigars, heated tobacco and rolling tobacco packs are equally affected. The detail of new rates in force can be consulted on the customs website.
Sending a letter or package will cost more
The Post Office revises its rates upward. Letter and package prices will increase by 6.8% on average, to cover losses related to decreased mail volume and inflation, the company justifies. The green Letter stamp (for delivery in three working days) will increase by 10 cents, to 1.39 euros (+7.8%), while the Letter service plus stamp (delivery in two working days) will go to 3.15 euros (+16 cents or an increase of 5.4%).
The rate of the red e-letter, which has replaced the red stamp for next-day deliveries, remains unchanged at 1.49 euros. As for Colissimo rates, they will increase by an average of 5.2%, for all destinations (France and international).
Public transport rates in Ile-de-France are changing
From Wednesday, Ile-de-France Mobilités implements a single ticket at 2.50 euros, which allows traveling simultaneously on metro, RER and regional trains throughout the region. T+ tickets and origin-destination tickets therefore belong to the past. Same thing for buses and trams, with a ticket that will cost 2 euros. The measure creates winners, with the price of a journey between the old zones 1 and 5 halved, but also losers, with a journey on the Paris metro more expensive (2.50 euros versus 2.15 euros).
These measures are also linked to the extension of the Liberté+ pass to the entire region, which allows paying in arrears the number of tickets used during a month. The monthly Navigo pass rate increases by 2.8% in January, going from 86.40 euros to 88.80 euros, or 2.40 euros more than today.
Tragic discovery in Cannet: charred body in a shed
A dramatic discovery shocked the Cannet community this afternoon, when firefighters intervened to control a fire in a small 5-square-meter shed located on Font-Marie street. During extinguishing operations, which began around 3:30 PM, firefighters made a macabre discovery: inside the structure lay a completely charred body. The flames, which had also spread to surrounding vegetation, were promptly contained. Cannes police immediately launched an investigation to identify the victim and establish the causes of the fire.
Cyclone Chido in Mayotte: PM Bayrou announces reconstruction plan
Prime Minister François Bayrou has arrived in Mayotte to address the emergency caused by the devastating Cyclone Chido, which caused 39 deaths and over 4,000 injuries. The visit, particularly awaited by the local population, will conclude with the announcement of the “Mayotte Debout” plan, an initiative aimed at providing concrete solutions for the archipelago’s reconstruction. Not everyone agrees: on FranceInfo we heard many archipelago inhabitants demanding concrete actions and not words. Moreover, Bayrou decided not to stay in Mayotte: no hotels, he took the plane back and went to spend the night in La Reunion, 1400 km away.
Around the world in a minute
Protests in Georgia against new president
Thousands in Tbilisi square against Kavelashvili’s installation, ally of the ruling party, amid accusations of rigged elections and political tensions.
Putin apologizes for plane incident in Azerbaijan
The Russian president apologizes for the Christmas air tragedy but doesn’t admit responsibility; 38 dead after plane shot down in conflict zone.
Chinese workers discovered in slavery conditions in Brazil
163 workers found in inhumane conditions in a BYD factory. The electric car multinational cuts ties with involved company and cooperates with authorities.
Cecilia Sala: Italian diplomacy in action
Maximum effort for the release of the journalist arrested in Iran; Meloni and Tajani emphasize discretion and ongoing negotiations.
The Sun still turbulent: storms expected in 2025
Solar flares and geomagnetic storms predicted that could damage power grids and satellites, but offer spectacular polar auroras.
Weather
The period of good weather continues on the French Riviera with sun, little wind and mild daytime temperatures for the season also on Monday December 30th and this will be the trend until the first days of the new year. Minimums along the coast between 4 and 6 degrees, maximums: Saint-Tropez 13 degrees, Cannes 14 degrees, Nice and Monaco 16 degrees.
Milan sunny 3 degrees minimum 13 maximum, Turin sunny 0 degrees minimum 10 maximum, Genoa cloudy 9 degrees minimum 13 maximum.
A look at Europe, forecasts by Euronews:
Paris cloudy 0 degrees minimum 3 maximum, London 1 degree minimum 4 maximum, Madrid partially cloudy -2 degrees minimum 13 maximum.
Almanac
Rudyard Kipling
Famous people born on December 30
1865: Rudyard Kipling, English writer, Nobel Prize winner.
1932: Paolo Villaggio, Italian actor.
1946: Patti Smith, American singer.
1975: Tiger Woods, American golf champion.
Curious fact occurred on December 30
The First Cat Show in History
On December 30, 1873, there was the “Most prestigious Cat Show in history”: the world’s first feline exhibition was organized at London’s Crystal Palace.
The event was a huge success, with over 170 cats of different breeds on display and thousands of enthusiastic visitors. The funny thing is that the judging criteria were rather bizarre by modern standards: cats were evaluated not only for beauty but also for characteristics like “longest tail”, “fattest cat” and even “most melodious meow”!
A curious detail: among the prizes there was also a gold medal for the “most distinguished cat”, which was won by a Persian cat named “Old Lady”, who belonged, ironically, to a certain Mr. Dog!
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From Nice for Centrale Milano 1575 and Radio Nizza this is Marco Hugo Barsotti: this is Radio Nizza.