Livret A: over 9 billion euros net were placed in January, a record since 2009.

The French inflated their savings well at the beginning of the year. In January, savers put €9.27 billion more into their savings accounts than they took out, the Caisse des dépôts (CDC) said on Tuesday. This is the highest amount in 14 years for the first month of the year, stimulated by the announcement of the 3% rate.

The combined debt of livret A, the French’s preferred investment – 55 million people own one – and the Livret de développement durable et Solidaire (LDDS), reached a tidy sum of 520.9 billion euros on January 31, never seen before. LDDS alone rose by 1.95 billion euros last month.

The first month of the year, traditionally associated with New Year’s gifts, bonus payouts, and a time of less spending than December, is usually a favorable month for fundraising into regulated savings accounts.

Favorable booklets for the French

Moreover, in mid-January, Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire announced an increase in the interest rate for these two booklets from 2% to 3%, which came into force on 1 FEBRUARY.

A good reason to move some of the roughly 700 billion euros dormant in current accounts in France, according to the latest data from the Bank of France, released on Tuesday and closed at the end of September.

Competition is struggling to keep up: among the euro life insurance fund managers announced since the beginning of the year, not a single one has reached the 3% mark.

The money deposited in the Livret A and LDDS savings accounts, up to €22,950 and €12,000 respectively, excluding capitalized interest, is guaranteed by the state and is exempt from taxes and social security contributions.

Operated jointly by Caisse des dépôts and banking networks, livret A is mainly used to finance social housing.