How long is French paternity leave?

Since July 2021 the congé de paternité et d'accueil de l'enfant is 25 calendar days for a single birth, or 32 calendar days for multiple births. On top of that the employer pays 3 days of congé de naissance, giving 28 or 35 days in total.

How is the IJSS daily allowance calculated?

CPAM pays indemnités journalières based on your average gross daily wage over the three months before leave (the salaire de base divided by 91.25), capped at the monthly social security ceiling. The daily reference wage is then reduced by a flat 21% for social contributions to give the net daily IJSS.

Are the first 3 days paid by the employer?

Yes. The congé de naissance of 3 days is a separate employer-paid leave taken at the birth. The 25 (or 32) CPAM-paid days follow, of which the first mandatory block of 4 days must be taken immediately after the birth.

Is the whole leave paid at full salary?

Not necessarily. CPAM pays the capped IJSS, which is limited by the social security ceiling, so high earners receive less than full pay unless a collective agreement tops it up. The 3 employer days are usually at full salary.

Does this replace official CPAM figures?

No. This is a planning estimate. Your exact indemnity depends on your declared earnings, the social security ceiling in force and any maintien de salaire from your employer. Confirm with Ameli or your employer before relying on the figures.

France Congé Paternité Calculator

The France Congé Paternité Calculator estimates the length and pay of French paternity and co-parent leave (the congé de paternité et d’accueil de l’enfant) together with the congé de naissance. It works out the total days you can take and the IJSS (indemnités journalières de Sécurité sociale) the CPAM will pay based on your reference salary.

How it works

Since 1 July 2021 the leave has two parts:

Congé de naissance — 3 days paid by the employer, taken at the birth.
Congé de paternité — 25 calendar days for a single birth, or 32 calendar days for a multiple birth, paid by CPAM as IJSS.

That gives 28 days total for one child and 35 days for twins or more.

The CPAM daily allowance is derived from your average gross salary over the three months before leave. The salaire journalier de base is your three-month gross divided by 91.25, capped at the monthly social security ceiling (plafond mensuel de la Sécurité sociale). A flat 21% is then deducted for social contributions to give the net daily IJSS:

daily base = min(3-month gross, 3 x ceiling) / 91.25
net daily IJSS = daily base x (1 - 0.21)
total = net daily IJSS x CPAM-paid days

Tips and notes

The first 4 days of the CPAM leave are mandatory and must immediately follow the birth.
The remaining days can be split into up to two blocks within six months of the birth.
The IJSS is capped by the social security ceiling, so high earners are not paid full salary unless a convention collective tops it up.
The 21% deduction approximates CSG/CRDS and other social charges applied to IJSS; the exact rate varies slightly by situation.