Juridique et Administratif

🏨 On October 28, 2024, France's National Assembly and Senate reached an agreement on a law proposed by deputies Annaïg Le Meur and Iñaki Echaniz to regulate furnished tourist accommodations. The legislation, which took 18 months of discussions to shape, aims to end incentives for short-term rentals over long-term housing, provide local officials with tools to maintain urban balance and combat fraud, and ensure fair competition between tourist lodgings. ATOP praised the agreement for major advancements like mandatory registration of tourist accommodations, applying energy performance requirements to short-term rentals, and offering regulatory control tools to local authorities.

💰 Le Syndicat des Indépendants et des TPE (SDI) alerte sur les risques des réformes de Michel Barnier pour les TPE, craignant un impact économique sévère. Une enquête auprès de 1 943 dirigeants de TPE révèle que 88% voient la réduction de la dette comme une menace pour leur entreprise, et 45% sont affectés par l'augmentation des charges sociales et du SMIC.

💳 On October 23, Catherine Quérard, President of GHR, met with Secretary of State for Consumer Affairs Laurence Garnier, who indicated the government's support to extend for one year the derogation allowing the purchase of non-immediately consumable food items with meal vouchers. This extension is seen as negative by restaurateurs due to a substantial loss of revenue exceeding 850 million euros since the implementation of the derogation in October 2022, with concerns that meal vouchers might become taxed.

💸 The Assemblée générale du CPSTI unanimously voted against the PLFSS 2025, with one abstention. The law proposes delaying the revaluation of old-age benefits by six months to July 1, 2025, due to socio-economic pressures. This could severely affect the purchasing power of independent retirees, with the Retraite Complémentaire des Indépendants (RCI) expected to see only a 0.2% increase in pensions amid a predicted 1.8% inflation rate. The delay disproportionately impacts independent workers, especially women retirees.

📌 On the eve of social partner negotiations to sign a new unemployment insurance agreement, GHR requests CPME, MEDEF, and U2P to reform the bonus-malus system, which imposes extra contributions on companies with higher separation rates compared to peers in the same sector, considering all job contract ends followed by unemployment registration within 3 months, impacting the hospitality industry without considering its specificities or seasonal activities, as criticized by GHR President Catherine QUERARD.

💵 The French Government has introduced the Social Security Financing Bill (PLFSS), affecting business costs with potential amendments during the parliamentary process. Key measures include a revamp of employer social contribution discounts, changing from 13% to 7% at 2.2 times the minimum wage (2025), and from 5.25% to 3.45% at 3.2 times the minimum wage for family allowances. In 2026, a unified discount system up to 3 times the minimum wage is proposed. The PLFSS also plans to decrease health insurance daily allowances (IJSS) from a 1.8 to 1.4 minimum wage ceiling, impacting employer and providence regimes contributions. Additionally, a reduction in social security coverage from 70% to 60% for medical consultations is projected, leading to higher mutual insurance contributions for businesses and employees.

📌 On September 18, 2024, the French Court of Cassation reaffirmed the principle of shared burden of proof between employer and employee in disputes over the existence of overtime hours, as per Article L.3171-4 of the Labor Code. The case involved a server at a restaurant claiming 22 unpaid overtime hours within his 61-hour workweek. The Court of Cassation overturned a Court of Appeal decision, stating the employee had provided sufficiently precise elements to require a response from the employer, who failed to present any work duration control documents. A webinar on time tracking will be hosted by GHR on November 21st. Employers must establish daily, weekly, and monthly work duration records for employees not subject to a collective schedule. Failure to comply can lead to legal disputes, administrative fines of up to €4,000, or a 4th class fine of €750, and penalties for concealed work, including imprisonment and fines up to €45,000 or €225,000 for companies.

🏨 The French finance and social security bills for 2025 imply heavier corporate contributions, with potential new taxes on the hospitality sector, including higher tourist taxes and additional regional ones, plus taxes on water consumption by tourists and a "civil security" tourist tax. These measures aim to offset France's debt by taxing tourists, risking competitiveness in global tourism and possibly driving tourists to less expensive destinations. The GHR advocates for dialogue with tourism stakeholders rather than indiscriminate taxation.

💰 Over 1780 amendments filed since the beginning of this week at the French National Assembly, including Amendment No. 1800 deposited on Sunday evening, aim to modify Article 3 of the bill for correcting rental market imbalances. The bill, pushed by deputies Iñaki Echaniz and Annaïg Le Meur, targets a balance between furnished short-term and traditional long-term rentals. It seeks a 30% reduction in fiscal deductions for furnished tourist accommodations without influencing long-term rental taxation, under a revenue ceiling of €30,000 for classified tourist accommodations, €50,000 for rural gîtes with an additional 20% deduction, and €15,000 for non-classified tourist lodgings. The amendment also follows the Le Meur report to the Minister of Economy, suggesting increased deductions for long-term unfurnished rentals, effective January 1, 2025.