The rate of the booklet will fall at 1.7 % from August 1 in France!

The favorite savings of the French are preparing to undergo a serious setback. The rate of the booklet A, owned by more than 55 million people, will fall to 1.7 % per 1^er August 2025, compared to 2.4 % today. A significant drop, the strongest since 2009, validated by the Banque de France and in accordance with the regulatory formula. In an economic climate still fragile, this decision relaunches the debate on the profitability of regulated savings and questions the future choices of savers in search of alternative solutions.

The regulatory turn: a drop guided by the official formula

The Ministry of the Economy formalized on July 16 a decision that will impact millions of French people. The rate of booklet A will be lowered to 1.7 % from 1^er August 2025, against 2.4 % since February.

This is the highest decline since 2009, applied in accordance with the regulatory formula. The latter is based on two main parameters: the half -yearly average of inflation excluding tobacco and the interbank interest rate of the euro zone.

The government explain that “The level of inflation fell to 0.88 % in the first half”making this revision in accordance with the rules. The Banque de France, responsible for technical recommendation, validated the new rate, and Bercy followed it without discretionary adjustment.

Several factual elements make it possible to measure the scope of this decision:

• This is the second drop in 2025: the rate was still 3 % in January;
• The booklet remains the most used savings product in France, with more than 444 billion euros deposited in May
  ;
• The last fall of such magnitude dates back to 2009, in the midst of a financial crisis, when the rate fell to 1.25 %;
• The rate of 1.7 % remains higher than current inflation, but its rapid drop can weaken the confidence of savers;
• The calculation formula was not bypassed: unlike the popular savings book, the government has applied no derogation to limit the decline.

Far from being harmless, this announcement illustrates the fragility of the remuneration of regulated savings in the face of macroeconomic developments. It also underlines the state's desire to maintain the readability of the system, despite the potentially negative effects on the purchasing power of savers.

The booklet has as a political and financial lever: who benefits from the decline?

Beyond its strictly regulatory dimension, this reduction in the rate of booklet A also responds to global economic issues, in particular in the financing of social housing. Indeed, the government specifies that this decrease will reduce the debt burden of HLM organizations, a large part of which is indexed to the rate of booklet A.

“The drop in the rate of booklet A will provide social housing players nearly a billion euros in investment capacities over two years”specifies the official website of the Ministry of the Economy. By lowering this funding cost, the State therefore seeks to stimulate investments in a tension sector, while avoiding weighing down its own public debt.

This budget lever is part of a more global economic recovery strategy by supply, aimed at alleviating the credit constraints of social landlords and indirectly reducing costs for SMEs.

Conversely, on the household side, the prospect of a net remuneration lower than real inflation to come could promote a progressive disinterest for this type of regulated savings, in favor of more dynamic or alternative products. The Banque de France, however, maintains that the rate of 1.7 % remains “Tax net and above current inflation”which still makes a secure option.

In this context of decreasing compensation, looks are increasingly turning to alternatives perceived as more dynamic. Among them, bitcoin and cryptos gain visibility with savers looking for return. If their volatility remains high, their adoption is progressing, especially among young workers. This refocusing of savings strategies could contribute to redesign the French financial landscape, where traditional products are struggling to compete with digital assets in full change, carried by a logic of rarity and monetary innovation.

In the medium term, if inflation starts upwards or if savings compensation remains permanently lower than market standards, savings flows could switch to other vehicles, such as life insurance, SCPI, or even cryptos for more informed profiles, which could further explode the French savings.