In search of savings, the French government plans to delay the family allowance boost from the second child until age 18, up from 14. Set for March 2026, the change would save around 200 million euros. It aims to fund a new birth leave amid budget pressures.
The Agence France-Presse (AFP) learned on Friday, October 17, from the Ministry of Health that the French government is preparing a decree to push back the family allowance revaluation from the second child from age 14 to 18. The current boost, at 14 years, provides monthly aid of 18.88 to 75.53 euros depending on household income.
The ministry justifies the reform with a recent study by the Direction de la recherche, des études, de l'évaluation et des statistiques (Drees), which questions the cost difference between children under and over 14 and recommends the 18-year threshold. “It is justified that the level of support [for family allowances] adapts to the level of expense generated by the child, in line with the purpose of this benefit,” the ministry told AFP. These savings are needed “to fund an ambitious birth leave in a context of tension on public finances and social security accounts.”
This new birth leave would add to existing maternity and paternity leaves, allowing each parent up to two extra months to welcome their child. The draft decree will be reviewed alongside the social security finance bill, with ministers' hearings starting Tuesday by the social affairs commission, before reaching the National Assembly in early November.
If adopted, the measure would take effect in March 2026, generating savings of about 200 million euros that year, according to Le Parisien, confirmed by the ministry.