From 1848 to 1945 In 1848, the French Post Office launched the printing of a 20 centime stamp in black and a 1
franc stamp in red. Between 1849 and 1920, the Post Office's rate for the first weight step was relatively stable between 10 and 40
centimes de franc for 15 grams. In the
interwar period, postal prices rose steadily from 25 centimes in 1920 to 1 franc in 1939.
From 1945 to 1975 After the
Second World War, the price of a letter weighing less than 20 grams rose from 3 francs in 1946 to 25 francs in 1959. With the
new franc, the domestic rate rose from 25 centimes in 1960 to 40 centimes in 1969.
From 1975 to 2015 For some forty years, the price of a stamp for a letter weighing less than 20 grams remained stable, equivalent to 60 and 70 euro cents in 2022. During the 1970s, the domestic rate for a 20-gram letter rose from 80 centimes to 1.40 francs in 1980. Between 1983 and 2017, the priority rate increased by 3.06% per year. Since the changeover to the euro in 2001 and until 2017, the same rate has increased by an average of 3.91% per year. In comparison, between 1991 and 2014, inflation in France averaged 1.59% per year. It's worth noting: Fare increases did not keep pace with inflation in the 1980s. Since then, increases have generally been higher than the rate of inflation.
Since 2015 From January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2018, rate increases are governed by a four-year agreement, which limits the increase to 3.5% on top of inflation. However, in October 2017,
ARCEP authorized
La Poste to override the initial agreement. In January 2017, La Poste explained that the highest increases of the 2010s were decided "to ensure the sustainability of the universal service in a context of declining mail volumes". However, UFC denounced these increases, in the words of its president, who felt that they acted "as a repellent" and that they were precipitating the end of low value-added service. == Pricing trends from 1960 to 2022 ==