France to appeal EU order on tax-free savings accounts
(PARIS) - The French government said Tuesday it would appeal against a European Commission order to end the exclusive distribution of the tax-free savings account "livret A" by La Poste, the Caisses d'Epargne and Credit Mutuel.
The Commission said last month that France must free up the market within nine months, as the special distribution rights infringed European Union law and were not indispensable to serving the general economic interest.
In early June last year, the Commission initiated infringement proceedings on the accounts, which are intended to finance social housing as well as private savings.
According to the Commission, all banks in France should be able to offer the tax-free savings account.
On Tuesday, the French governmment said it would ask former International Monetary Fund chief Michel Camdessus, an honorary governor of the Bank of France, to produce a study on possible reforms of the Livret A system.
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