France is doubling paid paternity leave for new fathers to 28 days, President Emmanuel Macron has announced, reports The Guardian.
Of this leave, seven days will be obligatory, the French leader said, adding that 80% of the French population agreed that the amount of time fathers were currently allowed off work was too short.
The Elysée said the move would bring the country in line with more generous legislation elsewhere in Europe. It is expected to cost the country’s social security system around 500,000 euros a year, double the current bill, and will come into effect next July.
In France, the first three days of paternity leave are paid for by the father’s employer and the rest by the state.
Companies that refuse to give new fathers the obligatory seven working days off will face fines of up to 7,500 euros.
“This reform will move France from a mid-ranking position in Europe to being among the group of leading countries, including Spain, Sweden, Norway and Portugal,” the president’s office said.
“Time is an essential factor in establishing an important link between the child and the parents. The current 14-day period is too short,” the official added.
Macron set up a commission led by the well-known psychiatrist Boris Cyrulnik last November to examine a child’s first 1,000 days. The commission recommended nine weeks paternity leave.
“Doubling is already quite a large change in terms of cultural development and for the place of fathers with children,” the Elysée said.
A 14-day paternity leave was introduced in France in 2002 and was longer than many other European countries at the time.