The Minister of Affairs, Sarah El Haïry, brings together, this Wednesday, May 15, employers, employers, unions, elected officials and family associations on the subject of birth leave to refine this subject which must replace parental leave. The consultation, which began at 8:30 a.m., will bring together trade union and employer organizations, the National Union of Family Associations (Unaf) and associations of elected officials, according to those close to the minister.
This meeting will therefore focus on four themes, including a possible connection with the current parental leave which can extend until the child is three years old and the possibility of taking this birth leave part-time, it is indicated. at the ministry. Also among these four themes is access to this leave for specific populations (farmers, self-employed people, or adopting parents, etc.). Finally, “the mobilization of employers” will be discussed to supplement the compensation, as is already the case for paternity or maternity leave. The government is aiming for this leave to come into force in the second half of 2025.
Emmanuel Macron announced in January the creation of “birth leave” after the historic drop of 6.6% in the birth rate recorded in 2023: the number of births fell to 678,000 babies, the lowest since 1946. The big ones The axes of this birth leave had already been outlined by Emmanuel Macron in an interview with Elle magazine: “Three months for mothers, three months for fathers, cumulative during the child’s first year, and compensated up to 50% salary up to the Social Security ceiling”, i.e. 1900 euros, detailed the Head of State, aiming for entry into force in August 2025.
“Today, parental leave gives the right 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,” explained Sarah El Haïry to the Tribune on Sunday. “Recourse to 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 clarified, considering that this measure is “an investment for the country, for the birth rate and for full employment “.
“Couples on average would like to have between two and three children, but they have between one and two: we must help the French to 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 desired children against a fertility rate which has fallen sharply to 1.68”. “Even if the parameters of this new leave still need to 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 to go “from three years to two times three months”. He called for “an urgent review of this project”, judging it “in contradiction with Emmanuel Macron’s birth rate objectives and the state of public finances”.
