Parental leave: interested parents must notify their employer by June 1st

"All parents of children born from January 1st onwards will be able to take their additional birth leave from July 1st," by notifying their employer one month in advance, she said.

"Some employers are worried because there may be a cumulative effect from all parents of children born since January 1st," she noted during questions to the government in the Assembly.

But parents of children born between January 1 and July 1 will be able to take this new birth leave until April 2027, she specified.

Five implementing decrees will be published next week to allow the entry into force of this leave created by the 2026 Social Security financing law, the ministry told AFP.

Each parent will be able to benefit, in addition to their maternity, paternity or adoption leave, from one or two months of leave, compensated at 70% of net salary for the first month, then 60% for the second.

It will be possible to split this leave into two one-month periods. Each parent can take the leave simultaneously or alternately with the other parent.

Announced in January 2024 by Emmanuel Macron with a view to "demographic rearmament", the birth leave is presented by the government as a measure to support the birth rate, which has been declining in France for several years.