ECONOMY – The package of Marlboro, the best-selling brand of cigarettes in France, will reach the symbolic bar of ten euros this Sunday, March 1, under the effect of a tax increase which has reduced sales and aims to reduce the smoking in France.
New tobacco sales prices, set in a ministerial decree of January 31, come into effect due to a first tax hike of 50 cents, scheduled for this year – the second being scheduled for November 1, by the government.
Thus, as of this Sunday, the Philip Morris group – whose market share is 40% in France, including 26% with its flagship brand Marlboro- will sell the Marlboro Red package at 10 euros, compared to 9.30 euros previously . Another of its best-selling references increased by 60 cents: the Winston’s increased to 9.60 euros. The market leader therefore passed on the increase of 50 cents, and at the same time increased its margin from 10 to 20 cents per package.
At the competitor Japan Tobacco International, the price of Camel without filter goes to 9.80 euros against 9.10 euros, again an increase of 70 cents. The Marlboro package is however not the most expensive sold in France: the Gauloises brunettes from Seita (French subsidiary of the British Imperial Brands), which already cost 10 euros, drop to 10.60 euros, and the Gypsies brown to 11 euros against 10.50 euros.
Gas prices
Another change on March 1, regulated gas sales prices, applied by Engie to millions of French households, will drop by 4.6%.
Compared to the scale in force since February 1, these prices will drop “by 1.2% for customers who use gas for cooking, by 2.7% for those who have dual use, cooking and hot water, and 4.8% for homes that heat with gas ”, details the commission in a press release.
This change results from the application of a tariff formula defined in mid-2019. In total, since January 1, 2019, these regulated gas sales prices (TRVs) have experienced a cumulative drop of 18.6%, specifies CRE.
The Energy and Climate Law promulgated in November provides for the gradual extinction by 2023 of these gas TRVs, which are fixed by the public authorities and had been deemed contrary to European law by the Council of State. In the future, there will only be so-called market offers, at prices freely set by suppliers.
Pay equity
Established a year ago for the largest companies, the gender equality index now applies to companies with 50 to 250 employees who must publish it by March 1. Last year, the largest French companies – more than 1,000 employees – published their overall score out of 100, now a professional equality thermometer.
In France, women are paid on average, all positions combined, 25% less than men. At equal position and age, the difference is 9%, while the principle “for equal work, equal pay” has been enshrined in law since 1972.
According to the latest assessment delivered in September, around 17% of companies with more than 250 employees were on “red alert” in the words of the Minister of Labor Muriel Pénicaud, a score below 75 points which exposes him to financial sanctions.
Motorcycle licence
The new motorcycle license comes into force on Sunday with the flagship measure being the creation of a specific road code. Applicants, who previously had to pass the same theoretical test as those for a car license, will now answer 40 questions “approached from the point of view of the biker”. The price remains the same (30 euros).
The practical tests undergo a grooming. That known as of “plate”, where the candidate must chain maneuvers out of circulation, is reduced from 17 minutes 30 seconds to 10 minutes and relieved of the oral and technical questions, from now on integrated into the code.
The traffic test goes from 35 to 40 minutes and will be assessed there mastery of the “safety trajectory”, “which allows the best visibility out of corners”. According to Road Safety, 613 bikers died on the roads of mainland France in 2019. They represent 1.6% of road traffic but account for 19% of those killed.
See also on The HuffPost: The Benefits of Quitting Smoking on Your Body
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