France shells out to increase births

Middle-class mothers in France could be paid up to 1,000 euros (US$1,200) a month almost the minimum wage to stop work for a year and have a third child under a government scheme to boost the birth rate, already among the highest in Europe.

Despite female employment statistics that are the envy of the continent, the government remains worried about the reluctance of better-educated women to have babies.

A plan to be unveiled by Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin late Thursday was expected to double an existing cash incentive for big families.

In a Europe facing serious demographic decline, France's buoyant birth rate of 1.9 children a woman is well above the average of 1.4 and surpassed only by Ireland. France can also boast one of the EU's highest rates of female employment: 81 per cent of women between 25 and 49 are in work, including 75 per cent of those with two children (and 51 per cent of those with more than two).

But a recent report by Hubert Brin, the head of the National Union of Family Associations, warned that even France's high birth rate would not prevent the population shrinking. One of the problems is that middle-class and professional women are postponing the age at which they start a family (the 2004 average was 29.6), and spacing out their pregnancies (now nearly four years between the first and second child). As a result, fewer women will have more than two children.

The government hopes to reverse the downtrend by raising an existing 512 euros (US$614) monthly grant, the allowance paid to mothers (or, in theory but rarely in practice, fathers) who put their jobs on hold to raise a second or third child.

Grant available only for third baby

The grant will be available only for a third baby, and limited to one year. But it will be tied to the parent's salary, with an expected ceiling of 1,000 euros. The French minimum wage is 1,200 euros (US$1440) a month.

"The old deal only really attracted women in poorly paid work, not those with qualifications and competitive career jobs," said Dominique Meda, a leading social policy specialist. "This one could be that extra encouragement they need to take the plunge. It may even encourage some fathers to take a year off."

France's family policy, launched in the 1970s, aims to improve the country's birth rate and keep as many women in work as possible. "The main point is that women here no longer stop working when they have children: the majority work, even those with three kids," said Meda.

The French Government aims to make it easy for working women to have children either by allowing them to take time off from their jobs without too much of a financial loss, or by providing cheap, high-quality childcare.

Maternity leave, on near full pay, ranges from 20 weeks for the first child to 40 or more for a third. A whole gamut of grants, allowances and tax breaks is available, increasing substantially once a family has three children: all French "familles nombreuses" get some 300 euros (US$360) in monthly allowances and travel as good as free on public transport.

Expanded childcare network

At the same time, the network of state-run or state-approved creches for children from two months old has been expanded over the past decade or so, as has the number of state-registered childminders. Depending on the family's income, childcare costs from virtually nothing to around 500 euros (US$600) a month for the most well-off. Nursery school from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm is free for every child from the age of three.

"We plainly have a very good system compared with many countries," said Sylvie Clarke, 37, a mother of three from Lille. "It's true that, in France, you can have babies without it being a major financial blow, and without worrying whether you'll be able to go back to work afterwards."

Clarke, a bank executive, said she had been able to take up to a year off work for each of her three children because of the generous maternity leave offered by her employer, and so had never considered taking extended parental leave.

Source: China Daily