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Paternity leave in France: how to schedule it without losing a single day
It is an individual right, not transferable, and whatever you do not take within six months is gone for good. Here is how to split it sensibly.
Paul · October 12, 2026 · 6 min read
Two types of leave follow a birth in France, and they do not work the same way. Birth leave (congé de naissance), three days, is granted by the employer with no formal request. Paternity and child-welcome leave is different: you request it, you plan it, and above all, it belongs to you alone.
How the leave is structured
Paternity and child-welcome leave is made up of a first period of four consecutive days, immediately following birth leave, and a second period of twenty-one days, extended to twenty-eight days for multiple births.
The first period is mandatory to benefit from the scheme. The second is more flexible: it can be taken in one block, or spread out.
What matters about the timing
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The second period must be taken within six months of the birth
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You notify your employer at least one month before each period starts
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Within that notice period, the employer cannot refuse the leave
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After six months, both the right to the leave AND the benefit disappear, they do not carry over
Splitting it, an underused option
The twenty-one or twenty-eight day period can be split into a maximum of two periods, each at least five days long. This is what lets you keep a few days for later, for instance when the other parent returns to work, instead of using it all in the first week.
Many parents do not know this and take it all at once, simply because they did not plan ahead. Splitting has to be arranged in advance, not improvised at the last minute.
The point never to forget: this leave is an individual, personal right, not transferable to the other parent. Whatever you do not take within six months is not carried over to you or to anyone else. It is simply lost.
Reference text: Article L1225-35 of the Labour Code. Procedure and special cases on service-public.fr.
Bulle helps you get organised, not treated. For any medical question, or at the slightest doubt, contact your midwife or your doctor.