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(Last updated April 2009)
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Introduction and Overview
France 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. According to Adema and
Ladaique (2005), using 2001 data, France ranked first among 23 OECD
countries for net total social expenditures as a percentage of GDP
and 3rd for family expenditures on cash, services and tax measures
as a percentage of GDP.
Five objectives have dominated French family policy over these
years:
- "Solidarity" - to compensate families for
the economic costs of child rearing;
- Pronatalism - to encourage a higher birth
rate;
- "Social justice"
- to redistribute income to low-income families with children;
- To protect the well-being of children;
- In more recent years, to protect parental
choice among family types regardless of whether parents choose
to work outside the home or to remain at home to rear children.
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; and 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. In January 2001, a new family
benefit was introduced, the parental attendance allowance (APP).
This cash benefit is aimed at covering income foregone if a parent
must leave work to care for a seriously ill child. It is payable for
a maximum of 310 days within a period of 3 years and can be shared
between two parents. (It cannot be taken in addition to other
parental sickness leave.)
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
20, or 21 for purposes of the family income supplement for large
families and the all-family housing allowance, 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 almost 40
percent of 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, and school readiness are pervasive and
recurrent themes, even among programs for the very young.
Overall, the French family benefit system is still largely a
universal system. Despite high unemployment rates, 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.
At the 2003 Conference on the Family, where new family policy
measures are set out, the Raffarin government presented a new family
plan completely focused on the reform of the French childcare policy
for children under age 3. These reforms, which took effect in 2004,
reflected concerns with family issues in the context of a weak
economy (rising unemployment, bad economic indicators, budget cuts,
etc.) (Martin, 2003). In 2008 the new French government replaced the
Conference with a new Haut Conseil de la famille.
For children born after January 1, 2004, four allowances are
eliminated and replaced by a new allowance (see
Family Allowances).
Excluding its pre-school program, ecole maternelle, French family
benefits and services constituted above 3.5% of GDP in 2005, first
in a ranking of 30 OECD countries.
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Highlights
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country highlights in PDF format.
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Government Agencies
The relevant government agencies responsible for family
allowances in France are the Ministry of Labor, Social Relations and
Solidarity, the National Family Allowances Agency 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 National
Education is responsible for preschool education and the Ministry of
Health, Youth, Sports and Social Life for child care for the under
3s and for maternal and child health care.
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Demographic and Other Social Trends
France had a population of about 61 million in 2006, a little
larger than Italy and the UK, part of the trio following Germany,
the largest of the European Union countries by far. Slightly over 18
percent of the population is under age 15, significantly higher than
the EU average but similar or equal to Luxembourg and Denmark
(Martin, 1999; OECD, 2008a). The average age at first birth is now
29, not unusual in Europe. However, the fertility rate of younger
women has started to rise again. 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 again to 1.9 in 2000 and
2001.
According to Claude Martin, the French member of the earlier EU
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" (Martin, 1999) and 50.5
percent in 2006 (Eurostat, 2008).
Cohabiting and married couples are treated the same for income tax
purposes since 1996. A new legal agreement (the Civil Solidarity
Pact) was established in 1999 as a device for 'semi-formalizing"
cohabitation (without legal marriage).
In the mid-1990s, about 69 percent of married mothers were in the
labor force, 82 percent of lone mothers, and 57 percent of women
with children under six. Most of these worked full time. From a
different perspective, 85 percent of women with one child under six
were in the labor force in 1997, 82 percent with two children,
including one under six, and 56 percent with three or more (UNICEF,
2000). The employment rate of mothers with youngest child under 3
was 49.5% in 2004 (OECD, 2006).
Substantial numbers of labor migrants entered France in the 1950s
from southern Europe and North Africa to fill unskilled jobs.
Immigration from the latter has continued to be strong, leading to
an estimated 17 percent increase in the North-African-born
population between 1999 and 2004 and a 45 percent increase over that
period from sub-Saharan Africa. The primary motives for admission
from countries outside the European Economic Area are family
reunification and university studies; refugee admissions were
approximately 7 percent of the total in 2005 (Prioux, 2006). Labor
market outcomes for children of African origin are less favorable on
the whole than for their parents, due in part to low educational
attainment levels and employment discrimination (OECD, 2008). The
risk of unemployment is twice as great as that for persons with two
parents born in France (CERC, 2006).Return to Top
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Social Protection
France 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 was faced
with lower rates of economic growth, high rates of social
expenditures, high and persistent rates of unemployment (about 10
percent in 2006, higher earlier and about 9 percent in 2003), 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 about 30 percent in 2005, well above the
EU average. Pensions and survivors' benefits accounted for 44
percent of social expenditures in 2005, health for 30 percent, and
family and maternity benefits for 9 percent (and housing allowances
for almost 4 percent). More than half the expenditures for family
benefits are for universal benefits.
Women receiving certain family benefits (the family allowance and
single-parent allowances) and caring for a disabled person are
covered for the old-age pension. Those younger than 55, or who have
previously had a child, are qualified for an income-tested
survivor's benefit. Recent pension reforms will eliminate the age
requirement as of 2011. Orphan's benefit (Family Support Allowance)
(30 percent of breadwinners' wages) is also available to a full
orphan and 22.5% of average wage for a half orphan, or child in
comparable situation. Pensions for full orphans are available up to
the age of 21 or 25, if still dependent, under the employees’
supplementary pension schemes.
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 minimum integration income (RMI), created more
than 15 years ago, has failed to reach the objectives laid down for
it and underwent reform in 2004, without departing, however, from
the basic features of the absence of any work obligation and the use
of individualized plans for labor force participation (Barbier,
2007).
Although the number of beneficiaries in receipt of the RMI is
about a million, only half have an integration contract. Only a
small proportion find employment and too many receive the RMI for
several years. The reform was designed to revitalize the RMI through
proximity management and a personalized and more motivating
integration route. In 2007 the new government introduced on a trial
basis an in-work benefit (“RSA”) intended to top off on a long-term
basis the revenues of RMI beneficiaries. The RSA was extended, as
well, to beneficiaries of the Single Parent Allowance.
The French child poverty rate in 2004 was 8 percent according
to the OECD Family Database. Using a relative definition of poverty
(below 50 percent of median family income), it ranked 8th out of 24
countries (UNICEF, 2007). Applying the U.S. poverty measure (the
“absolute” measure), the child poverty rate was 10.7 percent in
1995, in contrast to the U.S. rate of 13.9 percent, ranking France
8th among 19 countries, while the U.S. ranked 11th. (In contrast,
the U.S. ranked 22nd in child poverty using the relative measure in
1999, but second with regard to GDP, and last in the 2007 UNICEF
child poverty ranking). Children living in single parent families
are especially vulnerable and their poverty rate was 26 percent, in
contrast to the U.S. rate of 55.4 percent in the same year. Child
poverty rates in France are especially high for children whose
parents are "non-European", and those of religious minorities.
Children in large families (those with four or more children) also
are at higher risk (CERC, 2004).
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Child, Youth and Family Policy Regimes
Maternity, Paternity, Parental, and Family
Leaves
Maternity 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
two or more births (with an additional 12 weeks before for
triplets), payable for two additional weeks in case of complications
in the pregnancy. There are compulsory pre-natal and post-natal
medical examinations. The first maternity leave law was enacted in
1928. Medical care is covered as well. Benefits are payable in case
of adoption and correspond to those for the post-natal period, with
additional leave granted when the adoption raises the number of
children in the household to three or higher (Fagnani and Boyer,
2008).
Paternity Leave, as of January 2002, was extended from three to
11 working days of paid, job-protected leave and to 18 days in the
case of multiple births. The cash benefit equals the maximum benefit
covered under social security. Employers may top off these benefits
for individuals with higher salaries. In 2007 almost all (97
percent) of mothers availed themselves of maternity leaves, as did
two-thirds of fathers.
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, starting six
months after the end of maternity leave, and paid for the second and
subsequent child at a flat rate, pro-rated if taken only part-time.
As of January 1, 2008, the monthly payment was about EUR 540 ($691).
Since 1994 parents may choose to take the leave at the same time or
sequentially. Although the leave in income-tested, about 90 percent
of families with children are eligible. The duration of the leave is
up to 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.
Adoption Leave (for either parent) is granted for 10 weeks from
the date of the child's arrival and 22 weeks if more than one child
is adopted. Like maternity leave, it is fully paid and
job-protected. A three-day paid leave is provided to the parent who
does not take the adoption leave. An adoption allowance is
available.
Sick Child Leave is provided for all working parents for up to 5
days a year, to care for an ill child under age 16 and is fully
paid. As indicated earlier, a new family benefit has been enacted,
providing the options of 310 days of paid leave, or part-time
work, over a three-year period for working parents with a seriously
ill child.
See also Family Allowances.
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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 workday 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 école 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 childcare for the
children of working parents, but participation is by no means
limited to these children. Almost all 3-4-5 year olds are now
enrolled and almost 40 percent of the 2-year olds. The major
priority now is to achieve full coverage for the 2-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 in a
group of 4 year olds in 2001 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.
The unit cost per child for a place in the maternelle is almost
as much as for a place in primary school. The maternelles are free
except for meals, which are fully subsidized, however, for
low-income families.
Crèches 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, Youth,
Sports and Social Life. Coverage is close to 40 percent and includes
23 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 crèches. 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
crèches including centers, family day care homes, parent
cooperatives, and part-day, part-week, and drop in centers. On
average, the cost of a place in a crèche (a center) is about $50 a
day. Half is paid by the government, one quarter by the Family
Allowance Fund, and one quarter by the family. The cost for children
in low-income families is borne fully by the Family Allowance Fund (Kamerman,
1998; Kamerman & Kahn, 1994; Cooper, 1999). The required staff to
child ratio is 1 adult for 5 infants (babies who don't yet walk) and
1:8 for toddlers. See
OECD
Country Note: Early Childhood Education and Care in France 2004.
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Trends in the percentage of children in the école
maternelle by age |
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1960-61
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1970-71
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1980-81
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1990-91
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2001-02
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2 years
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9,9
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17,9
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35,7
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35,2
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34,7
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3 years
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36,0
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61,1
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89,9
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98,2
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100,0
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4 years
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62,6
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87,3
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100,0
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100,0
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100,0
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5 years
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91,4
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100,0
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100,0
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100,0
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100,0
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Primary ECEC arrangement for children under 3 |
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Source: OECD Country Note:
Early Childhood Education and Care in
France (2004) |
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Family Allowances
The basic family allowance is a cash benefit provided regardless
of income for each child beginning with the second up to age 20 (and
to 21 under certain circumstances) and varying in amount by the
child's age. All French families with at least two children qualify
for this benefit and receive it. These allowances are tax-free and
the benefit levels, which are usually (but not always) adjusted
annually, are linked to prices and related on a formula basis to a
base amount equal to about one half the French minimum wage. In
addition, there are other categorical allowances, including:
- an income-tested supplementary family
allowance for large families (those with three or more children)
with the youngest child under age 3;
- a young child allowance;
- an orphan allowance for children without
one or both parents, for whatever the reason;
- a single -parent allowance that is
means-tested and is available for one year or until the youngest
child is age three; (According to data available in 2005, about
95 percent of those who qualify, take it, and 95 percent of
those are women.);
- two allowances that subsidize the costs of
in-home care for a child under age 3;
- a special income-tested allowance for
children returning to school in the fall; a special allowance
for handicapped children being reared at home;
- a housing allowance, income-tested, to
offset some of the costs of housing, either rental or owned.
The basic family allowance as of January 1, 2008, was about EUR
121 a month for 2 children (the first child receives no benefit)
and EUR 276 ($353) for three. Benefits are higher for older
children. Family benefits constitute an important part of family
income: 14 percent for those with 2 children; 29 percent for
families with 3 children; 45 percent for those with four or more
children (Baudelot, 1988). In addition, France provides a social
assistance cash benefit, available on a means-tested basis to those
aged 25 and older, or those who are younger and have a child in care
(RMI) (Richardson, 1994). Working women gain two years credit toward
their pension for each child brought up for at least nine of his or
her first 16 years.
The basic, universal family allowances constitute about 40
percent of all cash family benefits and 24.4 percent of all family
benefits. Income-tested family benefits account for 25 percent of
total family benefits. The basic allowance is worth about 14 percent
of family income for husband/wife families with modest income and
two children, and 15 percent for lone mothers with two children
(Rainwater & Smeeding, 2003).
A major family reform was introduced for children born after
January 1, 2004 (Martin, 2003). Five early childhood allowances were
eliminated:
- APJE (Allocation pour jeune enfant), a
means-tested allowance from the fifth month of pregnancy up to
the third year of the child’s life, about EUR 159 ($204) per
month.
- AAD (Allocation d’adoption), an adoption
allowance of equal amount, payable for a maximum of 21 months.
- AFEAMA (Aide à la famille pour l’emploi
d’une assistante maternelle agréée), which helped parents who
employed a professional childminder who keeps their child(ren)
at her house, to pay the social benefit (social security) costs.
- AGED (Allocation de garde d’enfant à
domicile), which helped parents compensate for up to 75% of the
costs of a childminder who cares for their child(ren) in their
own house.
- APE (Allocation parentale d’éducation), a
flat-rate non-means-tested parental leave (EUR 495 ($633) for a
full allowance) for parents with two or more children who want
to stay home and completely or partially suspend their
professional activity.
These allowances were replaced by a single, almost universal,
benefit called PAJE (Prestation d’accueil du jeune enfant).
The PAJE comprises four types of early childhood benefits: a
birth/adoption grant; the basic young child allowance; supplemental
allowances for parental childrearing; and a supplemental allowance
for free choice of childcare. It has been estimated that the basic
young child and childrearing allowances will cost an extra EUR 850
million per year.
- The childbirth/adoption grant is
income-tested and replaces the short-term APJE benefit in the
amount, as of January 1, 2008, of EUR 868 ($1,111) for a birth
and EUR 460 ($589) for an adoption. The grant is paid during the
7th month of pregnancy or upon the adoption and is paid for the
first and all subsequent children.
- The basic young child allowance, which
replaces the long-term APJE, follows payment of the
birth/adoption grant. Also income-tested, the allowance of EUR
174 ($223) per month, as of January 1, 2008, is paid from the
child’s birth up to about the age of three. The annual income
ceilings for eligibility for this and the preceding benefit are,
as of that date, EUR 32,328 ($44,112) for a one-child family and
EUR 42,722 ($58,301) for two working parents or a single parent.
- The supplemental parental childrearing
allowances replace the old APE (parental education allowance),
and are universal. Their purpose is to allow parents to stop
working, or to work less, in order to look after their child.
They are payable as of the first child and are conditioned on
two years’ previous employment. The first allowance (CLCA) is
payable as a separate benefit or, when certain income conditions
are met, in addition to the basic young child allowance, and is
prorated in the case of parent’s employment. From January 1,
2008 onward, the full monthly rate in the case of non-payment of
the basic allowance is EUR 539 ($690); otherwise it is EUR 365
($467). The second allowance is an optional supplement (COLCA)
for families with at least three children whose last child was
born or adopted after July 1, 2006, and with at least one parent
who has given up work to look after the child. The COLCA
levels, EUR 770 ($986) and EUR 597 ($764), are higher than the
CLCA levels, cited above. However, COLCA is of shorter duration:
one year versus 6 months for a first child plus up to the third
birthday for succeeding children.
- The childcare supplement replaces AFEAMA
(assistance for the employment of registered childminders) and
AGED (home childcare allowance) and is payable to a couple or
parent for either of those services. Like the childrearing
allowances, it is income-tested and payable separately or on top
of the basic young child allowance. The portion of the benefit
that covers part of the childminder’s wage varies according to
household income and is reduced for a child aged 3 to 6. The
employer’s contributions for the employment of a childminder
continue to be covered in full; for the employment of a nanny,
half the contributions is covered. In order to encourage the
development and use of childcare facilities of intermediate
size, the childcare supplement is available to parents who avail
themselves of such facilities. Lastly, the tax credit
arrangements for childcare costs are not affected (Rainwater &
Smeeding, 2003).
Martin (2003) writes that:
The government also provides a tax benefit to encourage
enterprises to develop private childcare solutions, and a budget
of 200 million Euros to create 20,000 crèche places. …[Other]
issues that are receiving a lot of attention in other European
countries as well include: the development of equitable public
childcare solutions for the under 3s for the entire nation; the
payment of parental leave on the basis of a person’s previous
salary (80%, as in Sweden or Iceland) and – even more – the big
question of equal opportunities for women and men, which could
lead to making no distinction among maternal, paternal and
parental leave (three months for each, as for example in
Iceland).
The final component of the basic family benefits is a flat-rate
allowance which is paid for one year to families with three or more
children which lose part of their income when one or more of the
children reaches the age of 20, the age at which family allowances
usually cease to be paid. The amount of this allowance, which is
paid on behalf of the concerned child, was EUR 76 ($97) per month as
of January 1, 2008. This measure is expected to be benefit 143,700
families at a cost of EUR 130 million over a full year. As noted
above, from January 1, 2008, the monthly payment was about EUR 121
($155).
See also
Social Security Programs throughout the World (SSPTW), 2004, Europe.
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Child and Family Tax Benefits
The 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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Other Child Conditioned Income
Transfers
Old 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 supplement when receiving Survivors Benefits and having a minor
child. Women receive an entitlement to two years’ credit towards
their pension if they have reared a child at home.
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Child and Adolescent Health
According 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 Infantile 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.
Ninety-nine and one half percent of the population has public
health care coverage. Nonetheless, because of growing concern
regarding the rising number of low-income families who were finding
it difficult to pay doctors' and prescription fees or to afford
hospital charges, and their children having delayed access to
preventive screening programs and to treatment, from January 1, 2000
those with no other health care coverage will automatically be
covered by the national general health insurance scheme (Boonstra,
2000; Richardson, 1994).
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Youth
Children up to age 20 (and up to age 21 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 re-established later that year.
A high school-leaving rate and lower labor market success for
immigrant and poor youth are current challenges. Social inequalities
in schooling are much more pronounced in France than elsewhere. A
recent CERC report commented that, on average, the French
educational system is not able to compensate for the environmental
handicaps, but instead reinforces them.
Since July 2002, firms are entitled to a 3-year reduction in
payroll taxes if they employ youth and unskilled workers on a
long-term basis.
Click here to view in pdf format a table on the
Ages at which children are legally entitled to carry out a series of
acts in European Union countries.
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Reconciling Work and Family
Beginning in January
2002, the standard work week was reduced to 35 hours. That
limitation was weakened in 2008 when firms were given the right to
negotiate directly with their employees for longer working hours.
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References
Abramson, P. (1999). The parental welfare model under change.
Roskilde, Denmark: Roskilde University.
Adema, W. & Ladaique, M. (2005). Net social expenditure, 2005
Edition: More comprehensive measures of social support, Working
Paper No. 29. Paris, France: OECD.
Barbier, J.-C. (2007). The French social protection system in the
throes of reform (1975-2007). International Conference: Welfare
state and competitiveness, the European experience and the agenda
for Latin America. Madrid, April 26-27.
Baudelot, O. (1998). Child care in France. Paper prepared
for the National Academy of Science/National Research Council
Working Group on Child Care Internationally. Woods Hole, MA.
Boonstra, H. (2000). Promoting contraceptive use and choice:
France's approach to teen Pregnancy and
abortion. The Guttmacher Report, 3(3).
CERC (2004).
Child Poverty in France. Paris, France: CERC.
CERC (2006). Times of change: France 1993-2005. Paris,
France: CERC.
CERC (2008). A national responsibility: The school-to-work
transition of young people without diplomas. Paris, France: CERC.
Cooper, C. (1999). Ready to learn. New York: French
American Foundation.
European Commission. (1998). Family and work survey: France.
The European Observatory on the Social Situation, Demography, and
Family.
Eurostat. (2008). Population in Europe 2007: first results
81/2008 Paris: Author.
Fagnani, J. (1999). Parental leave in France. In P. Moss & F.
Deven (Eds.), Parental leave: Progress or pitfall? Brussels:
CBGS Publications.
Fagnani, J. & Boyer, D. France. In P. Moss & M. Korintus
(Eds.) (2008). International Review of Leave Policies and Related
Research 2008. (pp. 200-206). London: Department for Business
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
Kamerman, S. B. & Kahn, A. J. (Eds.). (1991). Child care
parental leave and the under 3s. Westport, Connecticut: Auburn.
Kamerman, S. B. (1998). Early childhood education and care: An
overview of development in the OECD countries. Paris: OECD. (A
briefer version was printed in the International Journal of
Educational Research, 2000.)
Kamerman, S. B. & Kahn, A. J. (1994). A welcome for every
child: Care, education and family support for infants and toddlers
in Europe. Washington, DC: Zero To Three.
Martin, C. (1995). Father, mother and the welfare state.
Journal of European Social Policy, 5(1).
Martin, C. (1999). France. Family Observer. Luxembourg:
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.
Martin, C. (2003). France, in Key Family Issues in the EU
Member States. European Observatory on the Social Situation,
Demography and Family.
MIRE. (Ed.). (1997). Comparing social welfare systems in
Southern Europe, Volume III. Paris: Ministry of Labor and
Solidarity.
MIRE. (Ed.). (1994). Comparing social welfare systems in
Southern Europe, Volume I. Paris: Ministry of Labor and
Solidarity.
OECD. (2004).
Country
Note: Early Childhood Education and Care in France. Paris,
France: OECD.
OECD. (2006). Starting Strong II. Early Childhood Education
and Care. Paris, France: OECD.
OECD. (2008a). OECD in Figures 2008. Paris, France: OECD.
OECD. (2008b). Jobs for immigrants (Vol. 2): Labour market
integration in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Portugal.
Paris, France: OECD.
OECD. (2009). OECD Family Database.
www.oecd.org/els/social/family/database.
Pailhe, A., Rossier, C. & Toulemon, L. French family policy: Long
tradition and diversified measures. In
Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 2008, pp. 149-164.
Prioux, F. (2007). Recent demographic developments in France:
Fertility at more than 30-year high, Population, 62(3), pp.
415-456. Paris, France: INED.
Questiaux, N. & Fournier, J. (1978). Family policy: Government
and families in fourteen countries. New York: Columbia
University Press.
Rainwater, L., & Smeeding, T. (2003). Poor Kids in a Rich
Country. New York: Russell Sage.
Richardson, G. (1994). A welcome for every child: How France
protects maternal and child health. Arlington, VA: National
Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health.
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programs throughout the world, 2004. Washington D.C.: Government
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UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. (2000). A league table of
child poverty in rich nations. Innocenti Report Card, 1.
Florence, Italy: UNICEF.
UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre (2005). A league table of
child poverty in rich nations. Innocenti Report Card, 6.
Florence, Italy: UNICEF.
UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. (2007). A league table of child
poverty in rich nations. Innocenti
Report Card, 7. Florence, Italy: UNICEF.
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Contacts
- Washington Embassy
- Embassy of France
- 4101 Reservoir Rd.
- NW Washington, DC 20007
- Phone: (202) 944-6000
- Fax: (202) 944-6166
Ministry
- Brigitte Arthur, Chef du Bureau
- Bureau International, Sante et Protection
sociale
- Dele-gation aux affaires européennes et
internationales
- 14 avenue Duquesne 75350 Paris 07 SP
- Phone: 33 1 40 56 73 81
- Fax: 33 1 40 56 73 60
- Email:
Brigitte.Arthur@sante.gouv.fr
Claude Martin
-
Titulaire de la
Chaire « Lien social et Santé »
-
Directeur du Centre
interdisciplinaire de recherché-Soins de longue dureé et
vulnérabilité
-
Ecole des Hautes
Etudes en Santé Publique
-
avenue du Professeur
Leon-Bernard – CS 74312
-
35043 Rennes Cedex
-
France
-
Phone: 33-2-99 02 22
00
-
Fax: 33-2-99 02 26 25
-
Email:
Claude.Martin@ehesp.fr
-
Website: http://www.ehesp.fr
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