Cost of a stamp in France to rise 7.4 percent in 2026
Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques, des postes et de la distribution de la presse
(Arcep), and is intended to 'ensure the sustainability of the universal postal service with high quality in a context of continuing decline in mail volumes.'
The cost of posting letters and parcels will increase by an average of 7.4 percent from January 1st, 2026, while
rates for Colissimo parcels sent by individuals will increase by an average of 3.4 percent for all destinations (France and international).
Meanwhile the cost of sending an international letter will rise from €2.10 to €2.25.
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The
timbre rouge (red stamp), which guaranteed next-day delivery for letters, was abolished on January 1st, 2023
. It has been replaced by the e-lettre rouge, a digital service that allows urgent mail to be sent, printed, and delivered by La Poste the next day.
The lettre services plus service offers projected two-day delivery for letters and small parcels.
La Poste's 2026 price increases are highlighted here.
Changes in postage costs in France
2025
2026
Lettre verte
€1.39
€1.52
Lettre services plus
€3.15
€3.47
e-lettre rouge
€1.49
€1.60
Lettre recommandée (up to 20g)
€5.74
€6.11
Lettre internationale (up to 20g)
€2.10
€2.25
Sticker « suivi »
€0.50
€0.50
In 2025, households were expected to spend €28 on annual postage costs, a figure set to fall in 2026 by a forecast 6 percent.
Official letters
If you need to send letters for official purposes, such as cancelling a gas or electricity contract or sending legal letters, you will usually need to send it by
lettre recommandée
, or tracked letter.
You can also send a
lettre recommandée
online - La Poste offers an online service which not only sends your letter via a tracked service, it also gives you a model for what to write.
Official letters usually require rather formal French, but the La Poste
lettre recommendée
section gives you several models for common types of letters, so you can just fill in the relevant details like names, dates, places etc.
You can find the service
HERE
.
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