France
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Introduction and OverviewFrance has an explicit family policy that was shaped as a system of public social protection at the end of the 1930s, re-affirmed following World War II, and involves a rich array of child-related cash benefits and services. The cash benefits are the most extensive and generous in the world and the services among the most extensive. Five objectives have dominated French family policy over these years:
The priorities among these goals, especially between the second and third goals have varied over time. The political "right" has continued to stress pronatalism while the "left" has emphasized social justice. At present, the social justice (and anti-poverty and anti-social exclusion) goal has come to the forefront while the pronatalist concerns have become less visible. Multiple categorical cash benefits have been the preferred device for providing family benefits. Although the single most important family benefit is a universal family allowance, the major stress over the last two decades has been on income tested, categorical supplements. Special allowances for orphans, handicapped children, children under age three, single parents, children entering school, and so forth have been the pattern and continue to be so. All new allowances created since the 1970s have been income-tested, and in the late 1990s an abortive effort was even made to income test the basic universal family allowance. French national plans in the 1980s and 1990s continued the same priorities: young families, large families, poor families and working families. Current goals emphasize: supporting the rearing of the very young child; promoting the birth of the third child; reducing child poverty; facilitating the reconciliation of work and family life. Targeted on the very young child are such policies as: paid and job-protected maternity leaves for working women, which were first enacted as part of sickness insurance benefits in 1946, the allowances provided pregnant women linked to obtaining prenatal and post-natal care (now income-tested), an income-tested child-rearing allowance for those with two or more children, subsidies for in and out-of-home care for children, and a family-unit-based income tax system. Since 1945 when the family allowances were first established, the benefits have increased in number, in selectivity (more income-tested), in coverage (children are now covered until they are 22 and regardless of the employment status of their parents), but do not yet provide coverage of first children under the basic family allowance. However, there is strong evidence that French family policy has been successful in achieving its primary goal of horizontal redistribution (from those with no children to those with children), if not its long-term goal of reversing the downward trend with regard to the birthrate. And there is continued debate as to the effectiveness of family benefits and related policies in easing women's burdens in balancing family and employment. French family policy, however, also includes a significant emphasis on services, in particular a universal, voluntary, and free public preschool system that covers all 3-6 year olds and half the 2 year olds in a very popular program, relatively high coverage and extensive subsidies for infant and toddler care, and an outstanding maternal and child health system. Care, socialization, development, school readiness are pervasive and recurrent themes, even among programs for the very young. In 1996 some cuts were imposed on the family benefit system, as France prepared to reduce its budget deficit and qualify for the European Monetary Unit (EMU). Family benefits were frozen. The special 9-month allowance provided during pregnancy and the first four months after birth was means-tested. On the other hand, proposals to include family benefits in taxable income and to means-test family allowances were rejected. Some changes were made in the income tax system which favors high income families, to make it less generous to such families. The 24 different family allowances including both universal and income tested cash benefits, remain. Preschool programs covering all children aged 3-5 and half the two-year olds in a full day program, and child care services for the under 3s were sustained, but not increased. Overall, the French family benefit system is still largely a universal system. Despite high unemployment rates, severe financial pressures, efforts to reduce the budget deficit, and efforts to move towards more targeting generally including child and family benefits, thus far France has continued to protect its child and family policies.
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Highlights |
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Government AgenciesThe relevant government agencies responsible for family allowances in France are the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the National Family Allowances Fund with its tripartite governing body composed of representatives of employers, employees, and family organizations, and responsible for financing family allowances, and local Family Allowances Funds with responsibility for the payment of benefits. The Ministry of Education is responsible for preschool education and the Ministry of Health, for child care for the under 3s and for maternal and child health care. |
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Demographic and Other Social TrendsFrance had a population of almost 58 million in 1997, a little larger than Italy and slightly smaller that the UK, part of the trio following Germany, the largest of the European Union countries by far. Nineteen percent of the population is under age 15, significantly higher than the EU average but similar to Britain.(1) The average age at first birth is now 29, not unusual in Europe. Its teen non-marital fertility rate is negligible. Its total fertility rate declined between the 1980s and mid 1990s from 1.8 in 1985 to 1.65 in the early and mid 1990s, where it leveled off and then rose slightly to 1.7 in the late 1990s. According to Claude Martin, the French member of the European Observatory on Family matters, "Since 1965, the likelihood of divorce has quadrupled (from 10 to 40 percent in 1997). While 30 years ago just 6 percent of children were born outside marriage, the rate had rocketed to 40 percent by 1997."(2) Cohabiting and married couples are treated the same for income tax purposes since 1996. A new legal agreement was established in1999 as a device for 'semi-formalizing" cohabitation (without legal marriage). In the early/mid-1990s, 69 percent of married mothers were in the labor force and 82 percent of lone mothers. Most of these worked full time. |
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Social ProtectionFrance was a late developer as a welfare state but a pioneer in its family policy.. The peculiar complex structure of its social security system with extensive categorical pension schemes linked to different occupations, may have contributed albeit indirectly, to the extensive development of its family allowance system. Like all the European countries in the 1990s, France has been faced with lower rates of economic growth, high rates of social expenditures, high and persistent rates of unemployment (about 12 percent at present and even higher earlier), a deficit in its social security system since 1991, and pressure to contain its budget deficit in order to qualify for the EMU. Social expenditures rose throughout the first half of the 1990s, from 27.7 percent of GDP in 1990 to almost 31 percent in 1997 (the latest data published) well above the EU average. Pensions and survivors' benefits accounted for almost half of social expenditures in 1997, health for almost 30 percent, and family and maternity benefits for 10 percent (and housing allowances for almost 4 percent). More than half the expenditures for family benefits are for universal benefits. Poverty increased during the 1980s and 1990s, leading to the establishment of the first national social assistance program, the R.M. I. (Revenue Minimum de Insertion) in 1989 and the rising rate of take-up in the 1990s. RMI is a means-tested safety-net program, available to individuals aged 25 and older, and those under 25 who have a child they are caring for. This has been an influential program and has been replicated in a number of other European countries. The French child poverty rate in the mid-1990s was 7.9 percent, using a relative definition of poverty (below 50 percent of median family income), ranking 8th out of 23 countries with regard to child poverty but 10th with regard to per capita GNP. (In contrast, the U.S. ranked 22nd in child poverty but second with regard to GNP.) (3) |
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Child, Youth and Family Policy RegimesMaternity, Paternity, Parental, and Family LeavesMaternity Leave is a job-protected leave at the time of pregnancy and childbirth, payable for 6 weeks before and 10 weeks after childbirth at 100 percent of earnings (up to a maximum) for 1st and 2nd children, for 8 weeks before and 18 weeks after childbirth for a 3rd child, and for 12 weeks before and 22 weeks after confinement if triple of more births, payable for two additional weeks in case of extended hospital care because of pathological conditions in connection with pregnancy. The first maternity leave law was enacted in 1928.Medical care is covered as well. Benefits are payable in case of adoption as well, and correspond to those for the post-natal period. (4) Parental Leave sometimes referred to as a "child rearing leave, is a job-protected and benefit-protected (the standard social benefits including old age, survivors, disability, health, and maternity insurance) leave that follows maternity leave. Parental Leave was first introduced in legislation enacted in 1985, improved in 1994, and extended to include adoption in 1996. Workers qualify for the leave after working for the same employer for at least one year. Workers have the right to return to the same or similar job at the same pay. The leave is unpaid for the first child and paid for the second and subsequent child at a flat rate, pro-rated if taken only part-time. Since 1994 parents may choose to take the leave at the same time or sequentially. The duration of the leave is three years and it can be extended by one year in case of sickness, accident, or handicap of the child. The leave can be taken as a full time leave from work or part time (between 16 and 32 hours per week). Workers must give their employer at least one month notice before taking the leave. Employers cannot refuse the leave (prior to 1994 it was limited to employees in firms with 100 or more workers). Almost all those with one child, return to their job; with two or more children the rate of return has to do with how many children and the parent's level of education and skill.
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Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC)France has a single model of preschool education for its 2-6 year olds (Ecole Maternelle) and a diversity of policies and program types for children under age 3, with the two--three year olds participating in both types. The Ecole Maternelle is an international exemplar of ECEC programs, a publicly-funded preschool program, administered under the Ministry of Education and delivered under education auspices. Preschool facilities may be situated next to or even in a primary school, but often are free-standing. The programs are free for the standard school day, which usually covers 8 hours (8:30 am - 4:30 pm), and have supplementary ("wrap-around") services available before and after school hours, at lunchtime, and during school holidays for parents who have a longer work day and young children in need of care and supervision. Parents pay for the supplementary services at income-related fees. The programs are universal, and available to all children regardless of parents' income or employment status. There are also programs covering the half day on Wednesdays when French schools are closed (they are open a half day on Saturdays). Although initially established as educational programs, stress is increasingly placed on socialization and enhancing child development generally as well as cognitive stimulation and preparation for primary school. And meeting the needs of working parents is also being emphasized, despite serving children with at-home parents or caregivers as well as those with two - or sole -- working parents. The French ecole maternelle began as a charity program for deprived children in the 19th century and was transformed in the mid-twentieth century into a modern nursery school. All children aged two and older are eligible to participate, although there are not usually enough places for all 2-year olds whose parents want them enrolled. The program clearly provides child care for the children of working parents, but participation is by no means limited to these children.. All 3-4-5 year olds are now enrolled and close to half of the 2-year olds. The major priority now is to achieve full coverage for the two year olds, and to develop an appropriate, special "curriculum" for this age group. Although the French regard these programs highly, the groups may seem large by some standards, with as many as 25-30 children or more in a group of 4 year olds with one teacher and an assistant (sometimes). However, reforms of recent years have made some of these facilities much more like ECEC programs in the best child development traditions, and these reforms are spreading. A French expert interprets the role of the maternelle as follows: It must "contribute to the child's development…in all its forms, physical, cognitive, and emotional. It trains the child in the use of different modes of expression and prepares the child for the formal education of primary school. It permits the early diagnosis and treatment of future learning problems and handicaps." French research finds that children who do not participate in these programs are likely to be disadvantaged when they enter primary school. Creches or child care services in France, target children from 3 months through age two, with employed mothers; charge income-related fees, and are administered under the Ministry of Health. Coverage is about 30 percent and includes 18 percent in centers or supervised family day care, about 11 percent in the ecole maternelle (the 2 year olds), and the remainder in other types of creches. The infant/toddler group programs do not have consistent or uniform curricula and the family day care programs have even less. Programs usually operate 10-12 hours a day and children attend a full day except when parents work part-time. In contrast to the maternelle, there are several different types of creches including centers, family day care homes, parent cooperatives, and part-day, part-week, and drop in centers. |
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Family Allowances
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Child and Family Tax BenefitsThe French income tax system is based on a family unit concept, with income pooled for the family. There is also a child care tax credit to offset some of the costs of child care for working parents. |
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Child Support
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Other Child Conditioned Income TransfersOld Age Insurance beneficiaries are entitled to a supplement of 10 percent if they have reared at least three children, and a similar supplement to Survivors Benefits. They also are entitled to a child-care supplement when receiving Survivors Benefits and having a minor child. Women receive an entitlement to three years credit towards their pension if they have reared a child at home |
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Child and Adolescent HealthAccording to a special report of the French-American Foundation (1994) , "Children in France begin life with excellent prospects for healthy growth and development. Ninety--six percent of French children are born to mothers who receive early prenatal care. ..All but a minuscule fraction of children live in families that receive universal health insurance …By age two, more than 90 percent of children receive all required immunizations" . The French maternal and child health system (Protection Maternelle et Iinfantile or PMI was founded after World War II to combat infant mortality and morbidity. It is viewed as marking the transition of French child and family policy from charity to universal protection. Over the years, the PMI has extended its scope to emphasize health promotion through preventive care, family education, and early assistance to women, children, and families at risk of impaired health or development. It involves a network of decentralized public health agencies under local control. It operates through both the public and private sectors and includes family planning and counseling services, regular prenatal care, home health services, preventive health examinations and vaccinations for children from birth through age 6. Services are reimbursed by the national health insurance system. |
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YouthChildren up to age 19 (and up to age 22 under certain circumstances), are currently entitled to receive the basic family allowance,. Youth are covered under the National Health Insurance program, just as young children are. Sex education is mandatory in French schools, both public and private. The French government announced in January, 2000 a new policy enabling nurses to offer emergency contraception in the nation's public and private high schools, and established a national campaign to promote contraceptive use. Emergency contraception has been available over the counter in France since June 1999. Under recent government policy, school nurses must counsel students, screen them for health risks, inform them about sexually transmitted diseases and prevention, advise them about appropriate contraceptive services, and encourage parental involvement. This last policy was rejected in June, 2000 but there remains discussion about it. |
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ReferencesAbramson, Peter. The Parental Welfare Model under Change. Roskilde, Denmark: Roskilde Universit, 1999. Cooper, Candy. Ready To Learn. New York: Franch American Foundation, 1999. Kamerman, Sheila B. and Alfred J. Kahn, eds. Child Care Parental Leave and the Under 3s. Westport, Conn.: Auburn, 1991. Kamerman, Sheila B. "Early Childhood education and Care: An Overview of Development sin the OECD Countries", Paris, France: OECD, 1998. (A briefer version was printed in the International Journal of Educational Research, 2000.) Kamerman, Sheila B. & Alfred J. Kahn, A Welcome for Every Child: Care, Education and Family Support for Infants and Toddlers in Europein Europe. Washington, DC: Zero To Three, 1994. MIRE, Comparing Social Welfare Systems in Europe. (Paris, France: Minister of Labor and Solidarity, ) 3 vols, 19. Martin, Claud. "Father, Mother and the Welfare State", Journal of European Social Policy, Vol. 5,No. 1, 1995. Questiaux, Nicole and Jacques Fournier, Family Policy: Government and Families in Fourteen Countries. New York: Columbia University Press. 1978. Richardson, Gail. A Welcome for Every Child: How France Protects Maternal and Child Health. Arlington, VA: National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health, 1994. Unicef. Child Poverty in Rich Nations. Florence, Italy. Innocenti Report Card, No. 1, 2000. |
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Notes
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ContactsWashington Embassy |
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Maternity, Paternity,Parental, and Family Leaves |
Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) |
Family Allowances |
Child and Family Tax Benefits |
Child Support |
Other Child Conditioned Income Transfers |
School-Aged Children: Policies and Programs |
Housing Benefits |
Child and Adolescent Health |
Youth |
Reconciliation of Work and Family Life |
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