Supplementary birth leave (congé supplémentaire de naissance)
A right that only came in on 1 July 2026, so most guides — and plenty of employers — have not caught up. Each parent, separately, can take 1 or 2 months on top of the maternity and paternity leave, in one block or split into two non-consecutive months. Checked against service-public.gouv.fr on 22 September 2026.
- Who it applies to
- People who are employed (salarié)
- On your timeline
- Paperbump schedules this within 9 months of the birth
- Official source
- service-public.gouv.fr
- Last checked
- 22 September 2026
What else to know
You must have taken your maternity, paternity or adoption leave first. It reaches employees, the self-employed, public-sector staff and contractual public agents, and jobseekers alike. The window depends on when the baby arrived: for a child born or received into the home between 1 January and 30 June 2026 the leave must be taken between 1 July 2026 and 31 March 2027; for a child born from 1 July 2026 it must be taken within the 9 months following the birth. You are paid 70% of your net salary for the first month and 60% for the second, both capped at the social security ceiling of 4 005 € a month. Tell your employer by recorded letter 1 month before you want to start — 15 days if it follows straight on from paternity leave — and they cannot refuse if you gave that notice.
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