Overview
- A new congé de naissance began on July 1, giving each parent one to two months of paid leave with pay capped at 70% for the first month and 60% for the second, to be taken within nine months of birth or adoption.
- The EU introduced a flat €3 customs duty on non‑EU parcels under €150 on July 1 to replace patchwork national rules and curb platform circumvention that had hollowed out earlier national levies.
- The Commission de régulation de l'énergie set a higher July gas reference price, increasing average household costs by roughly 7.4% and pushing up bills for cooking and heating.
- Targeted supports and program timing changed: three million households will get about €50 extra per month under the prime d'activité starting in July, Unedic is due to announce a sub‑2% unemployment benefit rise, and the social leasing scheme for electric cars reopens on July 16 with a 50,000‑car target and income and mileage limits.
- Budget‑savings moves took effect on July 1 too, including tighter APL eligibility for non‑EU students and a postponement of home‑help contribution exemptions so only people aged 80 and over qualify, affecting roughly 350,000 people in their 70s.