“France needs to be a country where we are able to project ourselves”, underlines the government spokesperson

Birth leave will be “shorter but better paid”explains government spokesperson Prisca Thévenot, Wednesday January 17 on franceinfo, while a reform of parental leave was announced by Emmanuel Macron during his press conference this Tuesday.

Parental leave is currently paid at 429 euros per month, and lasts for one year, renewable twice under certain conditions. The new birth leave will be, “much shorter, a priori six months“. And the amount of 429 euros per month, “let’s be honest, it can be a huge obstacle, for both women and men”, she adds, pointing out that in recent years, “the appeal rate has been extremely reduced”. However, the exact amount of compensation has not yet been decided and will be defined according to “different modalities, and in particular the duration”.

The objective is “double”, First of all “ensure that those who want to use it can do so” but also not to distance parents too far from employment, because “staying away from the job market for too long ends up creating divisions.” The government spokesperson believes that “France needs to be a country where we are able to plan for ourselves, and when the desire to have a child is there, it must be able to be done peacefully.”