The French Senate approved on Monday, November 24, a new birth leave granting up to two additional months to each parent starting January 1, 2027. This measure adds to existing maternity and paternity leaves and aims to support families amid declining birth rates. Announced by Emmanuel Macron in January 2024, it forms part of the 2026 social security budget project.
The Senate voted in favor of this additional birth leave during the review of the 2026 social security budget project. Originally set for July 2027 in the initial text, deputies had advanced the date to January 1, 2026, but senators chose to delay it to January 1, 2027.
This provision, aimed at a « demographic rearmament » in response to falling birth rates, allows each parent to take these two months simultaneously or alternately. Senators removed a deputies' rule requiring at least one month not to be taken together by both parents, to promote a more equitable sharing of tasks. They also ruled that the leave cannot be split.
The junior minister for gender equality, Aurore Bergé, advocated for the measure to « give more flexibility » to parents, for instance in supporting postpartum depression cases. Socialist senator Laurence Rossignol praised the initiative, noting it strengthens the father-child bond and leads to a « fairer sharing of mental load ».
Compensation, set by decree, will be 70% of net salary for the first month and 60% for the second, per government indications. Rossignol urged that income loss remain limited to encourage fathers, who earn higher average salaries. This leave does not replace parental leave, paid around 400 euros per month until the child’s third birthday.
To fund it, the government proposed raising the family allowance majoration age for the second child from 14 to 18 years, but senators rejected this through an amendment by centrist Olivier Henno, backed by the left.