French lawmakers plan $8.4 billion aid for households to fight inflation

PARIS (Reuters) - French lawmakers are drafting a bill to shore-up household buying power by raising some forms of government assistance by 4%, at a cost of 8 billion euros ($8.44 billion) from July to April next year, business daily Les Echos reported on Sunday.

According to the report, the planned increases would apply to welfare benefits for families, unemployed workers and disabled people as well as pension payouts, effective in July.

Housing allowances, meanwhile, could be increased by around 3.5% starting in July as part of a separate bill.

France's central bank forecast this month that French inflation would average 5.6% this year before falling to 3.4% in 2023 and easing to just below the European Central Bank's 2% target in 2024.

($1 = 0.9475 euros)

(Reporting by Benjamin Mallet and Mimosa Spencer; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)