April 2025 will be remembered as a particularly dark month for the Livret A

This favorite savings tool of the French shows an unprecedented negative balance since 2009, with withdrawals exceeding deposits by 200 million euros.

April 2025 will be remembered as a particularly dark month for the Livret A. This favorite savings tool of the French shows an unprecedented negative balance with 200 million euros more in withdrawals than in deposits. A record deficit that follows the recent drop in its rate and seems to have caused widespread disillusionment among savers.

A record negative balance of 200 million euros was observed for the Livret A in April 2025, as reported by l’Argus de l’assurance. This is the worst performance since 2009, the year of the financial crisis. For comparison, in April 2015, the Livret A had already ended in the red, but with an outflow of 100 million euros.

This new record follows a period of strong mobilization by savers at the beginning of the year, particularly in January, when the Livret A rate was reduced from 3% to 2.4%. This reduction, announced at the start of the year, had already led to a net outflow of 1.3 billion euros in the first quarter of 2025.

This fatigue towards traditional investment is also demonstrated by the fact that the Livret A had seen a record inflow of 4.6 billion euros in December 2024, the highest since at least 1999, the year statistics began.

After the recent reduction in the Livret A rate, some savers might be turning towards better remunerated alternatives, such as those presented in the ultimate guide to Super Savings Accounts.

The LDDS resists, the LEP collapses

In this gloomy climate, the Livret de développement durable et solidaire (LDDS) is holding up well, with positive inflows of 310 million euros in April, reports Le Figaro. Despite similarities with the Livret A, the LDDS seems less affected, perhaps due to its image associated with responsible and sustainable investments.

Conversely, the Livret d’épargne populaire (LEP), reserved for low-income households, showed a record deficit of 1.96 billion euros. Although April is traditionally a difficult month for this product due to annual closures for non-compliance with conditions, the severity of this outflow raises questions about the growing precariousness of modest households.

For comparison, the outflow in April 2024 was much smaller, at only 270 million euros. This contrast highlights not only a cyclical disinterest but also a structural weakening of popular savings in France.

Outlook: temporary crisis or lasting trend?

Despite these setbacks, the total amount accumulated by these accounts remains close to historical highs: 444 billion for the Livret A and 162.7 billion for the LDDS. However, the current trend could worsen if rates continue to decrease or if more attractive alternatives emerge sustainably.

Faced with these behavior changes, financial actors will need to quickly propose solutions to restore savers’ confidence. The challenge will be to offer competitive yields while ensuring the security and accessibility of these investments. In a context where some are now turning towards alternative assets like bitcoin, perceived by part of the public as a more attractive store of value, April 2025 could be either a mere accident or the beginning of a deep transformation in French savings.