Notice to all French families with young teenagers at home: the government wishes to increase from 14 to 18 the age of adjustment of family allowances paid from the second child. A change that is not to everyone’s taste.
A significant monthly discount
According to our colleagues at Parisianthe Ministry of Health is currently working on the said decree, for entry into force from March 2026. The objective is to allow the government to save nearly 200 million euros… by reducing the “allowances” budget of each family by a few dozen euros.
In detail, the government wants to raise the age of revaluation from 14 years to 18 years. In other words, for all parents who receive this aid from the age of 14 onwards (which varies between 18.88 and 75.53 euros per month, depending on the income of each household), they will now have to wait until their child turns 18 to benefit from it.
Social benefits revised downwards, which would therefore have a heavy impact on the budget of the French.
The ministry justifies this collective effort by a study by the Drees which “recently questioned a difference in cost generated by children under and over 14 years old” And “recommends instead retaining the threshold of 18 years”.
It would therefore be “justified that the level of support (family allowances, editor’s note) adapts to the level of expenditure generated by the child, in accordance with the objective of this benefit”estimates the ministry.
Savings put back into “birth leave”
Another argument from the government: the money thus saved will be used to finance “birth leave”, allowing each French person to experience the arrival of their child more comfortably (parents could in fact take up to two months more each to welcome their newborn).
“Each parent will be able to take the leave simultaneously or alternately with the other, hence the possibility of adding up to four months” to look after his children, confirms the government.
However, there is still uncertainty regarding the compensation provided for this leave. Aurore Bergé, Minister Delegate in charge of Gender Equality, assures that it will nevertheless be “better compensated” than the current parental leave (400 euros per month).
A necessity”for the well-being of children as well as for the well-being of parents“, believes Bernard Tranchand, president of the National Union of Family Associations (Unaf). A clever way of undressing Pierre… to dress Paul!
Associations that sound the alarm
Questioned on BFMTV, Emilie Souplet, head of the education division of Familles de France, denounces the penalization of middle-class families: “At a time when French families need a helping hand, this is more of a blow!“. In a press release, the association specifies that in terms of current family allowances: the increase for children aged 14 and over amounts to €75.53/month for low-income households (full rate) (and reduced in higher brackets). This means that we are considering withdrawing aid of the order of €75/month in favorable cases – or around €900/year – while “adolescent” expenses can greatly exceed this amount on certain items (leisure, transport, outings).
“This measure is not only unfair, but dangerous on a social, budgetary and demographic level. It will widen inequalities, weaken the confidence of families in the State’s commitment, and have a negative impact on the pronatalist dynamic that France says it wants to encourage.” concludes the association.