The government will launch consultations with unions, employers and associations on Wednesday on the subject of birth leave, which must replace parental leave, announced the Minister Delegate in charge of Families, Sarah El Haïry, in La Tribune on Sunday.
The main points of this birth leave were drawn up by Emmanuel Macron in an interview with Elle magazine this week: Three months for mothers, three months for fathers, cumulative during the child’s first year, and compensation up to 50 % of the salary up to the Social Security ceiling, i.e. 1,900 euros, detailed the head of state, aiming for entry into force in August 2025.
Today, parental leave entitles you to a monthly package of 448 euros. It’s not enough. Its duration is long. This keeps women, often the most precarious, away from employment, Ms. El Hary explained to the Tribune on Sunday. The use of this aid has collapsed, hence the need for reform.
The system will find its legal translation in the Social Security financing bill for 2025, she specified, believing that this measure is an investment for the country, for the birth rate and for full employment.
On average, couples would like to have between two and three children, but they have between one and two: we must help the French live their lives, she further noted.
This birth leave will not replace maternity leave (16 weeks for the 1st and 2nd children, 26 weeks from the 3rd) and paternity leave (25 calendar days).
After President Macron’s announcement, Unaf (National Union of Family Associations) welcomed such a measure, because the gap is widening between the desire (for children) and the realization: 2.27 children desires against a sharply declining fertility 1.68.
Even if the parameters of this new leave must still be discussed, it is a good starting point so that young parents are truly supported during their child’s first year, according to Unaf.
On the other hand, the Family Union (formerly Manif pour Tous) deplored this virtual disappearance of parental leave, called for going from three years to two to three months. He called for an urgent review of this project, judging it to be in contradiction with Emmanuel Macron’s birth rate objectives and the state of public finances.