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Jospin Proposes Two-Week Paid Paternity Leave
Prime Minister Lionel Jospin on Monday proposed a measure that would enable new fathers in France to take a two-week paid paternity leave.
The proposal will go before the parliament this fall and, if it passes as is considered likely, could take effect in January, Jospin said.
"Fathers, along with mothers, must fully experience the special occasion of birth, so they can welcome the child in the best conditions," Jospin said at the opening of a conference on family issues.
France's work code now provides for a three-day leave for fathers. New fathers would be given full pay on salaries up to $2,000 a month.
In France, mothers are allowed a 16-week paid leave for their first two children, and 26 weeks for births that follow.
Family Affairs Minister Segolene Royal, who has pushed for the measure, said the program would cost the government about $95 million, assuming 40% of new fathers took the optional leave. About 40% of fathers in other European countries with similar laws take paternity leave.
In Europe, Scandinavian countries grant the longest paternity leave. Swedish fathers, for example, are allowed 40 days off following the birth of a child.
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