No more parental leave, it is now “birth leave” to which parents will be entitled. This Wednesday, May 15, a consultation launched by the government will bring together unions, employers and associations to discuss the subject, as announced by Sarah El Haïry, the delegate minister in charge of families, in the columns of the Tribune Dimanche. While parental leave currently gives the right to a flat rate of 448 euros per month, for a period of up to two years, the government intends to review this system, “the use of this aid (having) collapsed”, declared the minister. A necessary reform in his eyes when the aid as it exists, too weak for too long a period, “keeps women, often the most precarious, away from employment”.
Reform whose outlines were outlined by Emmanuel Macron in Elle magazine last week: “Three months for mothers, three months for fathers, cumulative during the child’s first year, and compensated up to 50% of the salary up to the Social Security ceiling”, i.e. 1900 euros. With entry into force from August 2025, announced the Head of State. “The system will find its legal translation in the Social Security financing bill for 2025,” confirmed Sarah El Haïry, who sees it as “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 declared, while Emmanuel Macron called, at the start of year, to a “demographic rearmament”. This new birth leave will complement and not replace existing maternity and paternity leave.
