Educated French paid to have more babies

Payments counter to egalitarian ideals, socialists say

PARIS •

Middle-class French women are to be offered cash incentives to have third babies amid growing concern that too few children are being born to professional couples.

Although France’s fertility rate of 1.9 children per couple is relatively high among European countries, family lobbyists are dismayed by a fall in the number of babies born to better-educated women.

The government will announce its proposals on Thursday when Dominique de Villepin, the Prime Minister and the father of three children, presides at a conference on family life. A big increase in allowances has been widely predicted.

The National Union of Family Associations (UNAF), which is playing a key role in shaping policy, says the figure should be set at up to $1,470 a month for women with three children, double the present maximum, and fixed according to the woman’s salary.

Despite the budgetary implications in a country that is already accused of living extravagantly beyond its means, the government agrees with the principle and is said to be finalizing the details of a “very significant” initiative.

Given France’s egalitarian ideals, the notion of creating perks to attract professional mothers has been attacked by the socialist opposition.

Although class or racial issues have been side-stepped, there is also a suspicion on the left that the ruling centre-right regards the existing system as favouring those with little work ethic but living on handouts.

“ The poor current level of compensation appeals only to those on lower incomes,” Hubert Brin, the UNAF president, said yesterday.

“ This is not just a French problem but affects Europe in general. In Germany, as many as 40% of professional women turn their backs on maternity. Ask a professional woman these days to make a definitive choice between having a career and having babies and she’ll choose the former.”

The UNAF proposals reflect, at least in part, “the need to maintain a balance in society.”

Parents with three children already benefit in several ways, including family allowances of $420 a month, a $420 annual contribution to out-of-school activity costs and generous reductions on train and bus fares.

There are plans to extend the “big family” advantage card beyond public transport to a range of other services.

At present, women are entitled to six months of maternity benefits for the first child and three years for the second.

The new allowance will last for a year and be available to any French mother who elects to have a third baby and stay at home. But UNAF says linking it to her salary level will make it more attractive to high- fliers.

The one-year limit would be aimed at reducing pressure on social security spending and prevent women becoming detached from the world of work they leave to have families. Caps may also be placed on spending in other areas of family support.

Corinne Baconnet, 36, a Parisian vascular surgeon who is expecting her third child in a month’s time, said, “I do not think the government does enough to encourage women who want to have bigger families. It is obviously better if a mother can be with her child for the first part of his or her life so this idea is therefore a step in the right direction.”