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Childcare in France: why you have to start so early
Looking for a place once the baby is born is already late. The real calendar, and the options when the nursery says no.
Paul · July 29, 2026 · 6 min read
This is the one that surprises first-time parents most. In many French towns, nursery pre-registration happens during the pregnancy, often from the third or fourth month. Waiting for the birth means arriving after the allocation panel has met.
The calendar, roughly
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As soon as the pregnancy is confirmed: find your local early-years information point
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Around month three or four: pre-register with nurseries, usually online
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In parallel: contact childminders, without waiting for the nursery answer
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After the birth: confirm the pre-registration, which is almost always required
Do not bet everything on the nursery
Places are allocated by a panel, against criteria you do not control. A pre-registration is not a place. Run both tracks at once, nursery and childminder, and cancel one later.
A childminder works differently: you become an employer, with a contract and obligations. It is not better or worse, it is another thing entirely. Your local information point will explain it, free.
A nursery pre-registration is not a place. It is a ticket to a lottery whose rules you do not set.
And the cost
What you actually pay depends on your income and the option you choose, and the support does not all trigger automatically. Run the numbers before you decide, not after.
Find your local information point and estimate costs on monenfant.fr and caf.fr.
Bulle helps you get organised, not treated. For any medical question, or at the slightest doubt, contact your midwife or your doctor.