Extending maternity leave, better compensating parental leave: are we moving towards a reform following the recommendations of the Court of Auditors ?

The Court of Auditors recommends, in a report published this Thursday, December 12, 2024, to extend maternity leave by one month and to better compensate parental leave to “reduce the demand for childcare”.

“In a context of shortage of early childhood professionals”, better paid and shorter parental leave would reduce the need for places by some “70,000 cots”, for a “net cost of around 360 million euros per year”, notes the Court.

The government has been considering reforming this parental leave, which is currently paid at a maximum of 449 euros per month, since the end of 2023.

The “maternity leave granted for the first two children” (16 weeks) is “of short duration in France, compared with other OECD countries”, notes the Court in this report evaluating the public policy for welcoming young children (under 3 years old).

“Freeing up childcare places”

Extending it by one month “would free up 35,000 childcare places”, at a net cost of 350 million euros per year.

“The development of parental care, less expensive for public finances” than childcare in nurseries, “could reduce the demand for childcare”, and “compensate, in part, for the reduction in the number of childminders” half of whom will retire by 2030, according to the Court of Auditors.

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“Public spending appears to be poorly controlled”, notes the Court, observing that “public funding favors daycare”, which is the most expensive type of childcare.

Public funding has “represented 16.1 billion euros in 2022”, and financed almost 90% of child care expenses. “The share of families is less than 8% and that of employers is 3%”.

“Shortage of professionals”

The creation of 200,000 additional childcare places by 2030, promised by former Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, would cost an additional 3 billion euros, the Court is concerned.

A goal weakened by the “massive retirement of childminders” and in daycare centers “the shortage of qualified early childhood professionals” childhood”.

Support for birth rates and the quality of care have been “recently raised to the rank of priorities” of the early childhood care policy, alongside the objective of reconciling family and professional life and encouraging women to work, notes the court.

“Strengthening the quality of care”

The Court calls for “strengthening the quality of care”, and regrets that the financing system does not encourage its improvement, without noting any difference in quality between the public and private.

Noting territorial and social inequalities, she notes that one in five families cannot find a childcare solution. This is particularly the case for employees with atypical hours.