Lecornu says Livret A ceiling will rise to as much as €30,000 as nuclear financing fight reaches committee

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced on Tuesday that the ceiling on France's Livret A, the tax-free savings account held by most French households, will rise from February 2027 to a level "between 25,000 and 30,000 euros." The ceiling has stood at €22,950 since 2013. Lecornu also said the account's interest rate, now 1.7%, "will also be raised," without giving a figure or a date.

The announcement came during the weekly questions to the government at the National Assembly. It lands in the middle of a dispute over how the state should use the money French savers keep in these accounts. The 2027 budget bill already proposes to use regulated savings to fund up to €60 billion of loans for six new EPR2 nuclear reactors. Lecornu said on Tuesday that the government now wants to go further and also use the money for climate adaptation, public buildings and infrastructure. A coalition of left-wing lawmakers, unions and environmental groups wants the nuclear financing taken out of the budget. The article creating it is due before the Assembly's finance committee on Wednesday.

Quotations from French-language sources in this article are 567politics translations.

What Lecornu said

Lecornu was answering Christophe Naegelen, who leads the small centrist LIOT group in the Assembly. According to BFM Business and RTL, Naegelen had asked the government to launch a large national loan from French savers instead.

"There is still a final consultation, work to do with the banking sector, with Bercy and with the Caisse des dépôts, for a range between 25 and 30,000 euros," Lecornu said, as quoted by BFM Business. Bercy is the finance ministry. The Caisse des dépôts et consignations, or CDC, is the public financial institution that manages the share of regulated savings that banks pass on to it. Lecornu said Finance Minister Roland Lescure would set the exact figure "in the coming weeks."

The change would take effect in February, "at the same time as the update of the rate, which will also be raised," Lecornu said. The Livret A rate is normally reviewed on February 1 and August 1 under a formula linked to inflation and short-term interest rates. RTL reported the ceiling change for February 1, 2027.

Lecornu then described the account's new uses. "Historically, it financed social housing. As you know, we wanted to move forward on mobilizing these funds for new nuclear, and we are going to go further, in particular to finance the plan and the program for adapting to climate change, public buildings, infrastructure," he said, according to BFM Business. "Almost 83 or 84% of French people have a Livret A with funds deposited in it," he added.

LCP, the Assembly's own news channel, quoted him as saying: "All of this will contribute to our sovereignty challenges." LCP worked out that savers already at the ceiling could deposit between €2,050 and €7,050 more, depending on where the final figure lands.

RTL said the prime minister's office, Matignon, also pointed out that Livret A funds already pay for electricity and water networks and "the renovation of lycées and collèges," France's high schools and middle schools. School renovation is one of the demands of the high school protest movement that has blocked schools in recent weeks, which 567politics has covered. RTL, citing the business daily Les Échos, linked the higher ceiling to a €4 billion plan to renovate lycées. 567politics has not seen a government document setting out that plan.

How much money is involved

The Livret A and the LDDS, a sister account for "sustainable and solidarity" savings, pay the same rate and are both tax-free. Together they held €606.7 billion at the end of September, according to Caisse des dépôts figures reported by RTL and the banking site LaBanque.org. BFM Business put the Livret A's share alone at €442 billion.

Savers have been taking money out. In September 2026, withdrawals from the Livret A exceeded deposits by €1.52 billion, and the LDDS lost a net €700 million, LaBanque.org reported, citing the Caisse des dépôts. The rate rose from 1.5% to 1.7% on August 1, and deposits briefly turned positive, with net inflows of €80 million in July and €460 million in August. September wiped that out. Since January, the Livret A has had net outflows in seven of nine months, totaling €6.91 billion.

The chart below shows monthly net flows into the Livret A since January 2025. Figures through June 2026 come from the Caisse des dépôts open data portal. July to September 2026 come from LaBanque.org's report of the Caisse des dépôts' monthly releases.

−4bn

−2bn

0bn

2bn

2025-010.35bn

2025-020.97bn

2025-030.4bn

2025-04−0.2bn

2025-051.22bn

2025-060.22bn

2025-07−0.07bn

2025-080.02bn

2025-09−1.95bn

2025-10−3.81bn

2025-11−0.73bn

2025-121.45bn

2026-01−1.87bn

2026-02−0.74bn

2026-03−0.49bn

2026-04−1.28bn

2026-05−0.63bn

2026-06−0.92bn

2026-070.08bn

2026-080.46bn

2026-09−1.52bn

2025-012025-052025-092026-012026-052026-09

Source: Caisse des dépôts open data, LaBanque.org citing the Caisse des dépôts

Show the numbers

Month	Net flow
2025-01	0.35bn
2025-02	0.97bn
2025-03	0.4bn
2025-04	−0.2bn
2025-05	1.22bn
2025-06	0.22bn
2025-07	−0.07bn
2025-08	0.02bn
2025-09	−1.95bn
2025-10	−3.81bn
2025-11	−0.73bn
2025-12	1.45bn
2026-01	−1.87bn
2026-02	−0.74bn
2026-03	−0.49bn
2026-04	−1.28bn
2026-05	−0.63bn
2026-06	−0.92bn
2026-07	0.08bn
2026-08	0.46bn
2026-09	−1.52bn

The rate has fallen sharply over the same period. It was 3% until January 2025, then 2.4% from February 2025 and 1.7% from August 2025. It fell again to 1.5% in February 2026 before going back to 1.7% in August 2026, according to the Caisse des dépôts data. Annual inflation was 3.4% in September, according to the national statistics office INSEE as cited by LaBanque.org, which means the account currently pays less than inflation. Philippe Crevel, director of the Cercle de l'Épargne think tank, told LaBanque.org that the Livret A is "caught between two fires": the summer rate increase was "quickly overtaken by the strain on household purchasing power and the compulsory spending of the back-to-school season."

A higher ceiling matters mainly to savers who already hold the maximum. It does not by itself bring new money in. That is one reason the government has paired it with a promise of a higher rate.

The nuclear financing in the budget bill

The plan to use regulated savings for nuclear power is already written into the 2027 budget bill, filed with the Assembly on October 1 as document no. 3210. Its Article 69 would have the state guarantee loans from the Caisse des dépôts' Fonds d'épargne, the fund that holds centralized Livret A and LDDS money, to a project company owned by the state power group EDF. The company would build three pairs of EPR2 reactors at Penly, Gravelines and Bugey.

According to the bill, the guarantee covers up to €60 billion of principal plus interest and fees. It applies to loan contracts signed before December 31, 2028, and can run until December 31, 2090. The loan would cover 60% of the estimated construction cost and would be drawn in six tranches, one per reactor. Each tranche would be repaid over 35 years after a grace period of up to four years. The loan rate is set at the Livret A rate plus one percentage point. The state would subsidize the cost down to 0% during construction and 3% once the reactors are running. The first reactor is expected to start operating around 2038.

The bill's explanatory statement says the state guarantee is meant to protect regulated savings and to keep the Fonds d'épargne able to carry out its "missions of general interest," in particular financing social housing. Attac, the anti-globalization group, says in its own appeal that President Emmanuel Macron announced the use of regulated savings for the program after a nuclear policy council on March 12, and cites an Élysée cost target of €72.8 billion in 2020 euros. Le Figaro reported that the government said in March that financing for social housing would remain the priority.

The coalition against the nuclear plan

On Monday, a coalition of left-wing lawmakers, associations and unions held a press conference at the Assembly to demand the withdrawal of the scheme, Le Figaro reported, citing AFP. The organizers said their appeal had nearly 150 signatories.

"An exorbitant blank check," said Maxime Laisney, a deputy from Jean-Luc Mélenchon's France Insoumise (LFI). Dominique Plihon of Attac said: "This deserves a debate and that debate is not taking place." He called the plan a "unilateral decision" by the executive that "violates the rules of democracy." Representatives of the environmental federation France Nature Environnement, the Sud PTT union and the CGT union at the Caisse des dépôts group also attended, along with LFI, Ecologist and Communist lawmakers. Communist senator Fabien Gay said he supports the six EPR2 reactors but opposes paying for them through the Livret A.

Laisney said Article 69 is due before the finance committee on Wednesday. He said he fears the government will use Article 49.3 of the Constitution, which lets it pass a budget without a vote unless a censure motion succeeds. 567politics has reported on the postponed vote on the revenue part of the budget and on the debate about the 49.3.

A tribune published by Greenpeace France on behalf of the coalition sets out its case. It says 2.9 million households are waiting for social housing and that the nuclear loans would take "about 30% of the part of the Livret A devoted to essential infrastructure: social housing, hospitals, universities." It says the total cost of the program "could well exceed the 153 billion euros announced to date," and warns of a "real" risk that savers will pull out if they object to the use of their money. It asks for three things: the removal of the measure from the budget bill, a stronger annual lending envelope for social housing, and "a real democratic debate" on the use of popular savings and on France's energy mix. 567politics has not independently checked the 2.9 million or 30% figures.

Attac's appeal points to Article L221-7 of the Monetary and Financial Code, which gives social housing priority among the uses of centralized Livret A funds.

The LIOT alternative: a national loan

Naegelen's question reflected a separate idea that has already passed one vote. On October 30, the Assembly adopted a LIOT amendment to the budget bill by 23 votes to 16, against the government's advice, according to the personal finance site ToutSurMesFinances. The amendment, tabled by Michel Castellani, would let the finance minister offer French residents and companies the chance to buy government bonds directly when they are issued. Details would be set by decree.

LIOT deputy Charles de Courson told the site he has in mind a €50 billion loan over ten years, paying 3.5% with interest free of income tax and social charges. Subscriptions would range from €1,000 to €61,200. "It is not a Livret D," he said, referring to a nickname some media had used, with D standing for debt. The goals, he said, are to "raise French people's awareness of the recovery of public finances" and to "renationalize part of the public debt." He estimated the savings for the state at between €450 million and €750 million, depending on where the money came from.

The budget's general rapporteur, Philippe Juvin of Les Républicains, opposed it. "Either the state gains and the individual who buys the bonds loses, or it's the reverse," he said in the chamber, according to the site. Public Accounts Minister David Amiel called it a "zero-sum game" and also opposed it. The amendment can still be changed or removed before the budget is finally adopted.

The calendar: committee, ceiling decision and February

Three things are on the calendar. On Wednesday, the finance committee is due to examine Article 69, the nuclear guarantee. In the coming weeks, Lescure is to announce the exact new ceiling after talks with banks and the Caisse des dépôts. In February, the new ceiling and a new rate are due to take effect together.

The ceiling and the rate are set by government regulation rather than by a law, so they do not need a vote in Parliament. The nuclear loan guarantee does, because it is in the budget bill. The government does not have a majority in the Assembly. 567politics has followed the budget's path, including the contraction in third-quarter GDP that has squeezed its revenue forecasts. Background on the parties and the 2027 presidential race is on our France elections page.

How we reported this

567politics read the 2027 budget bill directly on the National Assembly's website, and took Livret A flow and rate data from the Caisse des dépôts' open data portal. Lecornu's remarks come from reports by LCP, BFM Business and RTL, which match one another. The positions of the coalition and of LIOT come from their own published texts or from statements on the record. We have not independently verified the cost estimates put forward by opponents of the nuclear plan. See our methodology for how we source and check stories.

Differing perspectives

How should France use the savings held in Livret A accounts?

Each position is summarized as its supporters make it, with equal weight and in alphabetical order. A summary is not an endorsement; the evidence for each is weighed in the story above.

• Drop the nuclear loans and put social housing first

  Who holds it: Left-wing lawmakers, Attac, environmental groups and unions in the Livret A coalition

  The coalition says regulated savings rest on a pact: households save safely and the money funds social housing and public needs. With 2.9 million households waiting for social housing, it argues the EPR2 loans would capture about 30% of the share used for infrastructure and could drive savers away. It wants the measure removed from the budget and a democratic debate on savings and the energy mix.

  In their words: Greenpeace France (coalition tribune) ↗

• Raise the ceiling and widen what the savings fund

  Who holds it: Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and the government

  The government says the Livret A, held by about 84% of French people, is the best-known and most liquid savings tool, so it should be used for national needs. It plans to raise the ceiling to between €25,000 and €30,000 and raise the rate in February, and to fund new nuclear reactors, climate adaptation, public buildings and infrastructure as well as social housing, which it says serves French sovereignty.

  In their words: LCP-Assemblée nationale ↗

• Sell government bonds directly to savers

  Who holds it: The LIOT group, including Charles de Courson and Christophe Naegelen

  LIOT argues that a national loan would make French people aware of the effort to repair public finances and "renationalize" part of the public debt, rather than leave so much of it with foreign holders. Its amendment would let residents buy state bonds at issue; De Courson suggests €50 billion over ten years at a tax-free 3.5%, and estimates savings for the state at €450 million to €750 million.

  In their words: ToutSurMesFinances (interview with Charles de Courson) ↗