La Poste: MPs propose an overhaul of the postal service in the face of financial difficulties

Two members of parliament have presented some forty proposals to modernize La Poste's business model and ensure the sustainability of its public service missions. In a report submitted to the Finance Committee of the National Assembly, Jacques Oberti (Socialist Party) and Jean-René Cazeneuve (Together for the Republic) argue that the company suffers from insufficient compensation from the State for its obligations, resulting in a deficit exceeding one billion euros. Between 2018 and 2024, this under-compensation is estimated to have contributed to increasing the group's net debt by more than four billion euros.

Parliamentarians are warning of the consequences of this situation for La Poste, which is facing a continued decline in mail volume and competition from players like Amazon. According to them, without reform, the group's investment and transformation capacity could be permanently weakened.

Towards mail delivery within 4 days

Among the main proposals put forward is the adoption of a new postal law, more than fifteen years after the previous one. The report's authors suggest gradually increasing public compensation for universal service obligations to 66% of their actual cost over a five-year period. They also recommend moving, starting in 2028, to a standard delivery time of four days after posting (D+4), compared to the current three, while accompanying this change with a gradual and differentiated increase in rates.

The report also recommends adapting the postal network to declining usage by removing the legal target of 17.000 points of contact, while ensuring territorial coverage through new formats, such as postal buses or service points in rural areas. Finally, the members of parliament wish to strengthen La Poste's role in services for the elderly, particularly for meal and medication delivery and social monitoring services, as well as reforming support for the press by replacing preferential postal rates with direct subsidies to publishers.