Aurore Bergé did not provide much detail on Wednesday morning to Emmanuel Macron’s announcements on birth leave. Tuesday evening, the President of the Republic confirmed the creation of a six-month “birth leave” for both parents to replace the current parental leave. The objective: to combat the decline in the number of births in France.
“A couple will be able to stop for six months and will be free to choose their dates,” confirmed the new minister responsible for Equality between women and men and the fight against Discrimination. Both parents can choose to take their leave at the same time, or consecutively, full-time or part-time.
The former Minister of Families refused to put forward an exact figure for the remuneration of birth leave, arguing that “consultation with the social partners” was still ongoing. “We are in the process of determining it so that a rate much higher than the 429 euros for parental leave is proportionate,” specifying that the government will go “well beyond” this amount.
In November, the former MP had already promised the creation in 2025 of this “new right” for families, indicating at the time that this leave “could” coexist with the old parental leave.
Created in 1977 and reformed several times since, parental leave allows parents to suspend their professional activity until the child is three years old. The parent who stops working receives compensation of 429 euros per month. According to a 2021 OFCE study, less than 1% of fathers take it. And the number of parents using it fell from 500,000 in 2013 to 246,000 in 2020, according to government figures.
Aurore Bergé returned to the declarations of the Head of State on Gérard Depardieu, who declared having “no regrets” for having defended his “presumption of innocence”. “I was not shocked because he was very clear about the presumption of innocence. We must refuse media courts.”
When concluding her speech, the minister assured that she was not surprised by the announcement of the candidacy for mayor of Paris in 2026 of Rachida Dati, newly appointed Minister of Culture. “It’s not a scoop,” she said. (Rachida Dati) has the right to have ambition.”
