Dhe French have long been considered the happiest parents in Europe, but the baby boom is over. The state statistics agency Insee has just documented the decline in births. In 2023, 678,000 children were born, 6.6 percent fewer than in the previous year. The number of births has been falling for several years. Compared to 2010, it fell by a fifth. A historic low since 1946 has now been reached.
The business newspaper “Les Echos” had the headline on Wednesday: “The end of the French exception”. France has always been proud of its exceptional status when it comes to having children. But the childhood miracle appears to be over, even if demographers do not agree on how sustainable the decline will be.
“Demographic rearmament” offensive
With statistically 1.68 children per woman, France is approaching the European average, which is 1.5 children per woman. In Germany, the combined birth rate fell to 1.46 children per woman in 2022, the lowest level since 2013.
But France does not want to accept the negative trend. President Emmanuel Macron announced a “demographic rearmament” offensive at his big press conference on Tuesday evening. “Our France will also become stronger by reviving its birth rate. Until recently, we were a country whose strength was its high birth rate. This has been less the case in recent years,” he said. The arsenal with which Macron wants to motivate the French to have children again includes a new parental leave shortened to six months, which should be well paid. He did not give exact figures yet, but the new parental leave is expected to come into force in 2025.
About 80 percent of French mothers are employed. Maternity leave with full salary compensation ends ten weeks after birth for the first two children. The possible parental leave of up to three years, which both parents can share, is not financially attractive. You only get 429 euros per month. Only one percent of fathers and 14 percent of mothers therefore opt for this parental leave. Macron now wants to counteract the concerns about salary losses and reduced career opportunities with the new parental leave.
He also expressed concern about declining fertility among men and women. France already relies heavily on modern reproductive medicine. Unmarried and homosexual women also have a legal right to artificial insemination. Macron bases his measures to combat infertility on a report prepared by Samir Hamamah, head of the reproductive biology department at Montpellier University Hospital, and Salomé Berlioux, founder of the Chemins d'avenirs association. It says that around 3.5 million people are affected by infertility. Family associations see the decline in births as a result of cuts in child benefit and tax benefits for middle-class families. In addition, there are savings for the municipalities that are responsible for daycare centers.
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