Some new products are arriving in 2023 in France. Between the end of the red stamp, free condoms for those under 26, but also the end of cold calling from numbers in 06 and 07 or even the new large family card at the SNCF, this Sunday promises a day full of changes.
• The red stamp disappears
The red stamps are removed from the catalog of La Poste from this 1er January. This stamp, which allowed mail to be delivered the day after it was sent, will be replaced by an “e-letter” version.
Fuel allowance, Navigo pass… What changes on January 1, 2023 in transport
To use this formula, you must send a document of three sheets maximum before 8 p.m. the post office website or from a post office. The document will then be printed near the addressee, put in an envelope and distributed the next day.
This “e-letter” will be charged 1.49 euros, against 1.43 euros for the red stamp.
• The end of disposable packaging in fast food
From this 1er January, fast food establishments (McDonald’s, KFC, etc.) are prohibited from offering disposable packaging to their customers. They must be replaced by reusable crockery in application of the law relating to the fight against waste and the circular economy (Agec) voted in 2020.
• Free condoms for under 26s
Condoms are, from this 1er January, now distributed free of charge in pharmacies for people under 26. This announcement was made by the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron at the beginning of December during a session of the National Council for Refoundation.
First reserved for young people aged 18 to 25, this free admission was extended to minors after an announcement by the president on his Twitter account.
Until then, condoms were delivered free of charge in pharmacies only on medical prescription.
• “Thermal colanders” will be prohibited for hire.
Housing whose energy consumption is greater than 450 kWh/m², i.e. energy class G, can no longer be rented from 1er January 2023. With this ban, the government wants to put an end to the rental of accommodation deemed “indecent”and in particular those that consume the most energy because they are poorly insulated.
However, this prohibition only applies to lease contracts concluded from 1er January 2023. In 2025, all G-rated accommodation will be affected by this ban. In 2028, class F housing will also be, then class E in 2034.
• Commercial canvassing from numbers in 06 or 07 prohibited
Call and canvassing platforms can no longer use telephone numbers starting with 06 or 07, these codes being now reserved for interpersonal communications and therefore for individuals. From this 1er January, commercial canvassing can only be carried out from numbers in 09 37, 09 38 and 09 39, categories reserved for this use according to a recent decision by Arcep.
• The Enedis electricity metering service for a fee if you do not have a Linky meter
From 1 January, consumers who have not installed a Linky meter in their home and who have not sent at least one consumption index statement for a year will have to pay compensation of 49.80 euros to the title of the meter reading service by Enedis. A sum of 8.30 euros will then be deducted every two months.
To avoid paying this sum, consumers who are not equipped with a Linky meter must therefore send their reading to Enedis before the end of the year, if this has not been done during the last 12 months. If this is the case, the consumer will benefit from a free statement service until December 2024.
The day the Linky meter was installed in my home
Note however that from January 2025, if the accommodation is not equipped with a Linky meter, and even if at least one meter reading is sent to Enedis during the past year, the reading service will be chargeable.
• The extended disability compensation benefit
Human aid from the Disability Compensation Service (PCH) is extended from 1er January 2023 for people with intellectual disabilities. People who are deafblind, or who have impaired mental, psychic or cognitive functions will be able to benefit from the help of a carer for their acts of daily living.
The criteria for entitlement to this assistance will also be broadened and will now include “support for autonomy”. People with disabilities will be able to ask for human support if they have difficulty “manage stress in the face of the unexpected”, “plan, organize, initiate, execute and manage time for usual or unusual activities” or “performing ‘multiple tasks’ of daily living, such as preparing a meal or going to a medical appointment” .
What changes on January 1, 2023: Croatia switches to the euro and joins the Schengen area
The time of human assistance can reach three hours per day and can be combined with assistance related to professional activity or participation in social life.
• A new large family card
In 2023, the large family card can be ordered directly online at a dedicated website, which will open on January 2. Previously managed by the SNCF, it is now carried out by the National Printing Office. The dematerialized versions of this card will be available as soon as the file is validated, and the paper versions sent within three weeks.
Created in 1921, the large family card allows families with three or more children to benefit from reductions on the train, without any means test. The advantages were then extended to services and products such as public transport, the cinema, the museum or even in certain partner stores.
• Seven additional diseases screened for in newborns
From this 1er January, seven new diseases will be detected during an optional test carried out on newborns: homocystinuria, leucinosis, tyrosinemia type 1, isovaleric aciduria, glutaric aciduria type 1, 3 deficiency -hydroxyacyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase of long chain fatty acids and carnitine uptake deficiency.
This test makes it possible to screen for rare but serious diseases of genetic origin, in order to possibly allow newborns to benefit from early care and allow good development of the baby and child.
Currently six diseases are detected using this test: phenylketonuria, congenital hypothyroidism, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, cystic fibrosis, MCAD deficiency and sickle cell disease.
• Grinding of male chicks (almost) prohibited
From this 1er January, the grinding of male chicks will be prohibited in France. This measure, long promised by the government, is nevertheless accompanied by an exemption for eggs from white hens. They will continue to be eliminated, by gassing with CO2 after hatching, for lack of being able to determine their sex before.
• End of assize rape trials
Crimes punishable by up to twenty years’ imprisonment, mainly rape, will now be judged in first instance by criminal courts, courts without popular jurors, and no longer by assize courts.
