 News
17th January 2007
The French are enjoying a baby boom
France has become Europe's most fertile country, with French women having
an average 2 children each.
The French birth rate is at its highest for 25 years, defying
the rest of Europe which is seeing a gradual decline in the number of
babies born.
In Europe 2.1 children per woman is considered to be the
population replacement level. Ireland has usually had the highest but
at an average of 1.9 children per woman, they have fallen just behind
France for the first time.
The UK has a rate of 1.75 and the European average is 1.5
Successive French governments have adopted family friendly
policies over the years and they try to make it easy for a woman to work
and have a family, rather than have to choose between the two.
Childcare is cheap and good, thanks to an ever increasing
number of state and private creches, and registered childminders providing
care for children from 2 months old.
Depending on income, childcare is either virtually free
or can cost up to a maximum of 500 euros (£328) a month. Nursery
school is free for every child from the age of three.
French women can also take maternity leave without too much
financial loss. Maternity leave for a first time mother consists of almost
full pay for 20 weeks, with their job guaranteed by law.
For women having their third or more baby, they are entitled
to 40 weeks or more on almost full pay.
Further encouraging the larger family, grants, allowances
and tax breaks increase substantially after the third child, with monthly
government cheques, free public transport and a host of other benefits.
And most recently, the French government have increased
a special one-year allowance to 1,000 euros (£659) a month paid to mothers
who give up work for the year in order to have their third child.
The system seems to be working because as well as having
the highest birth rate in Europe, France also has one of the highest rates
of female employees with 81 per cent of women aged between 25 and 49 working,
including three-quarters of those with two children.
Where to next?
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