Par Léa Giandomenico
Published on
Each month has its own set of novelties. For the wallet, but also for everyday life. The month of March is not to be outdone, with some changes expected for the French.
Here’s what awaits us from March 1, 2023.
A fuel price cap at some stations
Patrick Pouyanné, the boss of TotalEnergiesannounced this Wednesday, February 22, 2023: a tariff shield will be implemented in all Total stations, starting March 1, 2023.
The group’s 3,400 service stations (those on the motorways and those off the motorways) will apply a price limit set at 1,99 euro maximum for diesel (but not Excellium diesel) and gasoline (SP95 and SP95-E10, but not SP98), according to Patrick Pouyanné.
The motorway stations, for their part, have applied this cap since this Saturday, February 25, 2023.
Better supervised telephone canvassing
The government wants to fight the cold calling. As of March 1, 2023, a decree comes into force to regulate abusive canvassing and fight once morest fraudulent practices.
Concretely, it will no longer be possible for direct sellers to call consumers on certain time slots :
- Before 10 a.m. and following 8 p.m.;
- Between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.;
- Week ends ;
- Holidays.
A measure which aims to protect the privacy of French consumers, according to Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy. And if the direct seller violates this legislation, he may incur a fine to the salty amount: 75,000 euros fine for a natural person and 375,000 euros for a legal person.
The price of cigarettes is rising
Some manufacturers of tobacco decided to increase the price of a pack of cigarettes from March 1, 2023. Some brands even cross the 11 euro mark.
It is customs website which lists the price of packs of cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco. Many brands drive up prices, including reference brands, such as Philip Morris or Marlboro. With substantial increases, 50 cents to one euro sometimes.
The following references are, among others, affected:
Cigarettes :
- Lucky Strike Blue (20 units): 10.50 euros once morest 10 euros before
- Lucky Strike Gold (20 units): 10.80 before once morest 10.30 euros before
- Red Winfield (20 units): 10.50 euros compared to 9.90 euros before
- Camel Essential (20 units): 10.60 euros once morest 10 euros before
- Winston Classic (20 units): 10.60 euros once morest 10 euros before
- Marlboro Crafted Red (20 units): 11 euros once morest 10 euros before
- Marlboro Gold (20 units): 11.50 euros once morest 10.50 euros before
- Philipp Morris Blue (20 units): 11 euros once morest 10.20 euros before
Rolling tobacco :
- Lucky Strike the Authentic Blond (joke, 30 g): 15.50 euros once morest 14.50 euros before
- Camel to roll (joke, 30 g): 15.60 euros once morest 14.40 euros before
- Winston Classic (joke, 30 g): 15.30 euros compared to 14.10 euros before
To find all the references and their increase, you can click on this link.
The increase in the accession price rate
From March 1, 2023, the rate of the home loan from the Action Logement organization will triple. It will be brought to 1,5 %instead of 0.5% so far, bad news for borrowers.
In details, Housing action accompanies future owners in their purchase project. For this, a credit called “Accession loan”, also known by its former names “1% housing” or “employer loan”, is offered to the persons concerned.
Until now, it was thus possible to borrow up to 40,000 euros at the rate of 0.5% excluding insurance.
New loading of restaurant vouchers balance
If you have a meal voucher cardand you have money left on it, pay attention to your balance!
Until the end of February, issuers use this credit as a priority. But as of March 1, that may change, depending on your card issuer’s policy. Some automatically transfer your balance, and in this case you don’t have to do anything. For others, manual balance transfer is required : you will be asked to validate the operation by email, on your issuer’s website, or on your application.
These remaining funds from 2022 transferred to your new balance will be usable until the end of February 2024.
Re paper titles, they can be “exchanged free of charge for an equal number of vouchers valid for the subsequent period” if you return them to your employer before March 15, 2023, as indicated article R3262-5 of the Labor Code. Don’t forget to take stock before the end of the month.
We’re changing the clock!
The transition to summer time will take place on Sunday March 26, 2023 at 2 a.m. It will be necessary to add 60 minutes to legal time. It will then be 3 o’clock.
Reimbursement of the Navigo Pass
Some Ile-de-France residents will be able to benefit from a partial refund of their Navigo Pass. A way for the RATP to compensate certain users of the transport network in Île-de-France, for the numerous disruptions that have occurred in recent months on the RER and metro lines.
The refund procedure will open the 14 mars 2023.
All Ile-de-France holders of a Navigo Pass with at least three months of ski pass over the last four months of 2022 are affected by this refund. Holders of an annual Navigo subscription, a Navigo Senior, an imagine R Student, an imagine R School and Navigo Solidarity Month 75% and 50% are also concerned.
You will therefore be compensated for an amount of 37.60 euros or 75.20 euros depending on your case.
What ends on March 31
In addition to the things that change on March 1, note that others stop at the end of March.
- Application for the fuel bonus
You have until March 31, 2023 to request your fuel bonus of 100 euros, set up by the government. Indeed, it concerns people who use their vehicle to get to work and who have a modest tax income. Either 10 million households taxes altogether.
To apply, you must go to the website impots.gouv.fr until the end of March, enter your tax number and that of your license plate, then complete a “declaration on honor” indicating that you need your car to go to work, in order to receive these 100 euros in your bank account, as we already explained in a previous article.
- The end of the winter break
As of March 31, 2023, it is also the end of the winter breakwhich makes it possible to prevent the eviction of tenants, but also to maintain electricity and the gas in a dwelling even in the event of non-payment.
It lasts five months each winter. As of April 1, 2023, evictions suspended for the past 5 months will therefore be able to resume.
- The use of your energy check received in the spring of 2022
You may have perceived an energy check 100 or 200 euros subject to means testing. It was sent directly to 12 million households until the end of January, and helps households pay their electricity and gas bills or their energy renovation work.
Be careful, if you still haven’t used it, it’s time to do so, because it’s only possible until March 31, 2023.
- The end of electricity discounts from TotalEnergies and Engie
The two electricity suppliers TotalEnergies and Engie had set up a discount system for customers who consumed the least, following a request from the government in a context of energy sobriety. This operation will end on March 31.
TotalEnergies had set up the system called Bonus Conso. In detail, the French giant granted a discount on the bill ranging from 30 to 120 euros for customers who managed to reduce their electricity consumption this winter. Engie, for its part, had set up daily challenges with a bonus in euros at stake.
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