Insee, France's national statistics office, released its preliminary inflation estimate on September 30, showing that consumer prices would rise by 3.0 percent over a year in September, up from 2.4 percent in August. The Livret A, a widely used savings account, had been yielding 1.7 percent since August 1, which is 1.3 percentage points below the inflation rate, leading to a real return of about -1.3 percent. The rate for the Livret A was initially cut to 1.5 percent on February 1, 2026, before being increased to 1.7 percent on August 1. The Livret de développement durable et solidaire (LDDS), another savings account, follows the same rate, which automatically applies to all opened accounts. According to Insee, the recent acceleration in inflation is largely driven by energy prices, which have risen by 21.2 percent over a year, with food prices also contributing significantly, especially for fresh products. The Livret A has struggled to attract savers, with a noticeable decline in deposits since the first half of 2026. The Caisse des dépôts, a public financial institution, reported that the Livret A had recorded six consecutive months of disbursement between January and June, with the LDDS following the same trend. In May, the two accounts together saw 770 million euros in disbursements. This trend reversed slightly in the summer, with the Livret A collecting 80 million euros in July and 460 million in August. The Caisse des dépôts shared these latest figures on September 23. Since January, the combined balance of these accounts has remained negative by about 5.4 billion euros, with the outstanding balance reaching 444.2 billion euros for the Livret A and 608.9 billion euros for the LDDS by the end of August. Other regulated savings accounts have followed a similar pattern. The LDDS collected 80 million euros in August and had an outstanding balance of 164.7 billion euros. The Cercle de l'Épargne, an organization representing savings institutions, reported that the LDDS experienced a disbursement of 30 million euros in July. The Livret d'épargne populaire (LEP), a savings account reserved for households meeting income criteria, recorded 60 million euros in net deposits, with an outstanding balance of 83.4 billion euros and a negative balance of about 420 million euros since January. Life insurance has returned to historical levels, with strong collection figures reported by France Assureurs, an organization representing insurance companies. According to its data, the net collection for life insurance reached 41.3 billion euros over the first seven months of 2026, surpassing the same period in 2025 by 8.7 billion euros. Paul Esmein, the general director of France Assureurs, described this as the second-highest net collection in history, after 2006. July saw a particularly strong performance, with savers paying 18.8 billion euros in premiums, a monthly record. After accounting for withdrawals, the net collection for July amounted to 4.7 billion euros. The trend continued in August, albeit at a more moderate pace, with premiums reaching 11.5 billion euros and a net collection of 2.0 billion euros. Since January, the cumulative net collection has reached 43.5 billion euros, with the outstanding balance of life insurance contracts reaching 2,171 billion euros by the end of August.