At the dawn of the school and political year, “Libération” takes stock of the main developments this September.
September doesn’t just mean kids going back to school, their schoolbags full of new supplies. Revaluation of small retirement pensions, STI screening without a prescription in the lab, adjusted withholding tax rates… Liberation takes stock of the main changes at the start of the month.
Small pensions increased for more than a million retirees
From September, 1.1 million retirees will see their pension increase by around 60 euros per month – or 700 per year. This revaluation, anticipated by the pension reform, concerns all those who have contributed for at least 120 quarters (i.e. a full career), uninterruptedly and with a salary close to the minimum wage. The revaluation has already been effective since January for 600,000 retirees, but the application of the reform has been delayed and explains why this increase is only arriving now. But it is retroactive: retirees who should have received it since September 2023 will be able to recover what is owed to them.
Withholding tax rate adjusted
If your income from last year has significantly decreased or increased, you could be in for a good – or bad – surprise on your September pay slip. As every year, the income tax withholding rate will be readjusted. It is calculated based on the income tax return filed in spring 2023 and will apply until August 2025. To request a readjustment, simply go to your personal online space impots.gouv.fr.
Upcoming changes from elementary school to high school for this new year
Although there is still no minister in charge of National Education, the start of the school year will still bring with it some changes in schools, middle schools and high schools. All primary school pupils will take national assessments at the start of the year, with CE2 and CM2 now being affected – something their teachers are opposed to. In middle school, “needs groups” (level groups) must be organised in 6th and 5th grade for French and maths. In practice, the measure will be applied very heterogeneously depending on the establishment. In the absence of a government in office to sign the official texts, the reform of the brevet making continuous assessment less important in the final grade and obtaining the compulsory exam for the second year is on hold. The same goes, for example, for the new programmes from nursery school to CE2.
The study of the right to a school scholarship (college and high school) becomes automatic
Families with a child in middle or high school will no longer need to fill out a specific application to receive a school grant. From the start of the 2024 school year, the eligibility test will become automatic, when the family consents (when registering the child at their establishment). “If you have not consented to this system, scholarship applications under the usual terms are made from September 1 to October 17, 2024 (October 31, 2024 for students registered with the CNED)”, The Ministry of National Education states on its website that the annual amount of scholarships for the upcoming school year ranges, depending on the level, from 114 euros to 495 euros in middle school and from 474 euros to 1,008 euros in high school.
Free lab screening without prescription for four new STIs
It is now possible to carry out screening without a prescription (and free for young people under 26) for four new STIs in medical biology laboratories. These include hepatitis B, syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhoea. These infections, which are among the most common, are bacterial diseases that can be cured when diagnosed. Until now, only HIV screening was available without a prescription and free of charge in the laboratory.
Return of the 100 ml limit of liquids in aircraft cabin baggage
Some European airports had lifted the limit earlier this year, but they are going to reinstate it for security reasons. It will therefore no longer be possible to take bottles of liquids larger than 100 ml on a plane. The European Commission published an implementing regulation on 31 July to reinstate this measure. The cause: concerns about the effectiveness of the new explosives detection scanners (EDS Cabin) deployed. “In some very rare cases […] They detect explosives poorly” above a certain quantity of liquid, the Commission had reported to the Monde. You will also have to take liquids out of your bag again during checks before boarding.
Agricultural projects: significant reduction in appeal times
Farmers will see some of their administrative procedures simplified – one of the reasons for their anger. Since September 1, the deadlines for appealing against agricultural projects and hydraulic works have been reduced. They go from four to two months. This should allow them to have faster visibility on their projects, to be able to implement them more quickly or not.
