In praise of paternity leave

Fathers of newborns, can you imagine getting 25 days of paternity leave?

Since July 1, 2021, that’s the case in France. Paternity leave increased from eleven to twenty-five days. That’s on top of the three days of birth leave. Yes, altogether, we are talking about twenty-eight days off (even thirty-five in the case of twins or triplets).

And seven days MUST be taken from the birth of the baby (3 days of birth leave + 4 days of paternity leave).

The remaining 21 days of paternity leave may be taken "in two periods of at least five days each”.

What’s the objective of the law?

"Enable better development of children" and "create more equality between women and men".

The seven compulsory days should help change mindsets around the paternity leave at a collective level. Spouses will no longer have to ask themselves whether or not to take this leave from birth.

Paternity leave is available regardless of the employment contract and seniority. The leave concerns the father of the child, but not only.

If the mother lives with another person (the law uses the word "spouse" – “conjoint” in French), then the spouse can also benefit from it.

It’s a huge progress for France, even knowing that some European countries like Sweden or Denmark are way more generous.