The Livret A has never been so neglected during a first half: the preferred investment of the French recorded its worst performance over this period in almost 20 years, after the drop in its remuneration rate, which will go back to August 1.
Over the first six months of the year, withdrawals exceeded payments by 5.93 billion euros, the Caisse des Dépôts indicated on Wednesday July 22. The financial arm of the State, which manages a large part of the outstanding debt, had never recorded such a net outflow between January and June since 2008, the first year covered by consolidated data.
Combined with that of the Sustainable and Solidarity Development Booklet (LDDS), for which withdrawals also exceeded deposits by 960 million euros, outflows have totaled 6.89 billion euros since January 1, according to the public establishment. For comparison, the net collection for these two booklets had reached at the same time 6.03 billion euros in 2025, more than 15 billion in 2024 and almost 26 billion in 2023, the record.
All semesters combined, the record withdrawal from Livret A dates back to July-December 2015, when withdrawals exceeded payments by 6.86 billion euros. At the time, many savers had transferred part of their savings from Livret A to their housing savings plans (PEL), in order to benefit from their higher rate of remuneration before the announced drop in it.
Regain d’inflation
As of June 30, 2026, the total outstanding amount of Livret A and LDDS amounts to 608.3 billion euros, down 0.1% over the last twelve months. For the first time, the “capitalization effect” no longer comes into play: the interest paid to savers at the end of 2025 no longer compensates for this year’s outflow. The popular savings account (LEP), capped at €10,000 and reserved for low-income households, has seen an outflow of 380 million euros since January 1, for a total outstanding amount of 83.5 billion euros at the end of June.
This disenchantment of the French with the Livret A is explained by the drop in the remuneration rate of the most popular savings product in France, which fell to 1.5% in February after a plateau of 3% reached in 2023. Decided in mid-July in the face of renewed inflation in the first half of the year, the increase on August 1 of the Livret A rate to 1.7% – also valid for the LDDS, but not for the LEP, maintained at 2.5% –, applicable until January 31, 2027, could help halt this fall.
The extent of the expected positive effect is nevertheless still difficult to anticipate, with competition from other savings products and the evolution of other indicators such as the level of consumption and the household savings rate.
Life insurance competition
The Livret A, like the LDDS and the Popular Savings Book (LEP), is a liquid product – each holder can withdraw their funds at any time – guaranteed by the State, therefore risk-free, and exempt from taxes and social security contributions. Some 358,000 Livret A accounts were opened in 2025, according to the latest available data, bringing the number of holders in France to 57.3 million. A total that has increased slightly each year since 2020 but far from the peak of 2012 (63 million), according to data from the Banque de France.
They face competition from other savings products, life insurance in the lead: contracts totaled 2.162 billion euros at the end of May (i.e. 117 billion more than a year earlier), according to the professional federation France insurers. The match has been unbalanced for several quarters, since euro life insurance funds, with guaranteed capital like Livret A, offer remuneration of 2.63% on average.
The Livret A “remains the favorite investment of the French and we will continue to follow it like milk on the fire”, assured the Minister of the Economy Roland Lescure, when announcing the increase in the rate.
