« The birth rate keeps declining », « Less and less births », « A lower number of births » than the same month last year… When looking at the monthly birth reports prepared by Insee for the year 2025, the same pattern repeats from one month to the next. Between January and October 2025, no month exceeded its counterpart in 2024 in terms of births. On the contrary, from January to March 2025, for example, « the average daily number of births decreased by 2.7% ». The issue: the number of births is not far from matching, or even lower than the number of deaths, plunging the country into a demographic decline.
Months with a higher number of deaths than births in 2025
While the data is currently still provisional, as the reports for the year 2025 have not yet been published, one figure is already confirmed: a 2.3% drop in births in France this year. However, the year 2024 had already set a sad record. The birth rate had never been so low since the end of World War II — with a total of 660,800 births.
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And it seems that 2025 is following the same trend. In the first quarter, only 55,165 births were registered, which is a 3.6% decrease over the entire year, according to Insee. In May, the number of births—53,785—was below the number of deaths, the first time this has happened since 1945.
A new parental leave to encourage the French to have children
Since the late 1970s, birth rates have been steadily declining in France. While a woman had an average of 2.9 children in 1901, this number has dropped to 1.59 in 2024, falling below the generation replacement threshold of 2.05 children per woman.
How .explain this ? Global warming, anxiety-inducing climate, difficulties in conceiving, longer studies, prioritizing a career, but also financial factors are different reasons that explain why French people are having fewer children. The Ministry of Health estimates that the cost of raising a child, until they turn 20, is about €180,000.
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At the beginning of December 2025, the introduction of a new parental leave was approved thanks to the adoption of the social security budget. This initiative is part of the policy for demographic reinforcement championed by President Emmanuel Macron. This leave allows both parents to enjoy one or two extra months each with their child, in addition to their maternity or paternity leave. It can be taken simultaneously, separately, and even split into two periods of one month each. Parents will be compensated at 70% of their net salary for the first month and 60% for the second. This new leave will be implemented starting January 1, 2026.