The Council of State on Monday 19 February rejected an appeal by law professor Paul Cascia, who requested the annulment of the freezing of the Livret A rate at 3%, Agence France-Presse learned.
Mr. Cassia of Panthéon-Sorbonne University filed several requests with the highest French administrative court from July 13, 2023, the date the economy minister, Bruno Le Maire, announced that the livre would maintain the rate at 3. % till January 2025.
The remuneration rate of approximately 56 million livrets A, such as the 24.8 million livrets de development durable et solidaire (LDDS), is usually reviewed every six months by the Banque de France before being endorsed by the Bourse. It results from a calculation that takes into account half the inflation of the last six months and the other half the exchange rate between banks.
This operation gives 4.1% for the period from August 2023 to January 2024, 3.9% for the period between February 2024 and July 2024 and still more than 3% is expected for the last third of the journey between August 2024 and January 2025 (the figure is known in mid-July). can be).
False “good news” for savers
away from there “good news” For the French, announced by Bruno Le Maire, this 3% freeze is largely unfavorable for them, more than 6 billion euros in less remuneration from the first downward rounding at the beginning of 2023.
The State Council confirmed the Minister’s competence to take such a decision and upheld the argument “Exceptional Circumstances”, put forward by the Bank of France, which justifies it. The main argument for suspending the rate is to protect the money of social housing players, who borrow from the Caisse des Dépôts at the livre rate.
The latter, however, deal with favorable lenders and manage their debts for a longer period, with a standard loan period of forty years, a horizon essentially made up of declining and rising rates. Freezing the rate is also favorable for banks paying a share of the interest, and limits losses for insurers, who struggle to align their euro funding remuneration with regulated savings.
