Early childhood care
In France, children start formal schooling at the age of 3. A variety of childcare options are available for younger kids.
Care options
There are two types of childcare options for children aged 2 months to 3 years:
- Group care, including large and small childcare centres and full- and part-time day care facilities
- Individual care, including childminders associated with a childcare cooperative or a maternal and child health centre (PMI) and at-home childcare providers
Both group and individual care can be private (administered by an individual, a business, or a non-profit organisation) or public (administered by a local government, commune, or department). The main differences between public and private care have to do with how they are run and their prices.
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Childcare centres
Large childcare centres
Given the popularity of both public and private large childcare centres (les crèches), it is recommended that you apply for a spot as early as possible. Generally, you can do so at 6 months of pregnancy or, in the case of some establishments, as soon as you become pregnant. Visit your town or city hall’s website to find a list of large childcare centres in your area.
Childcare costs are scaled based on income. Ask for more information about a centre’s rates when you apply.
Small childcare centres
Small childcare centres (les micro-crèches) provide care for a smaller number of children of all ages. Your child benefits from more individual attention and a family-like atmosphere.
Childcare cooperatives
Childcare cooperatives (les crèches parentales) are non-profit organisations managed by the parents of the children enrolled in the cooperative. The parents take turns caring for the children.
Childminders
Childminders (assistantes maternelles or assistants maternels) are degreed professionals who care for up to four children aged 3 months to 3 years in their home or at a childminder centre (maison d’assistantes maternelles, or MAM).
They aim to ensure the children’s well-being, education, development, and safety. On a typical day, childminders feed the children, make sure that they are kept clean, take them on short walks, and engage them in activities such as painting and colouring.
This childcare option involves more administrative work as you must officially employ or co-employ the childminder. Here are the major steps to follow:
- Setting up an employment contract on the Pajemploi website, a service offered by URSSAF to simplify administrative requirements for parents who wish to hire a childminder
- Determining your employee’s rate of pay
- Establishing work conditions that respect French labour laws and the French national collective agreement for privately employed individuals
- Reporting your employee’s wages using the “Je rémunère et je déclare” section of the Pajemploi website
For a list of available childminders, visit your town or city hall’s website.
Useful links
- France Travail: information for private employers
- Pajemploi: at-home childcare and how to hire a childcare professional
Childcare in your home
You can employ a childcare professional to look after your child in your own home or in another family’s home (i.e., childcare alternates between the two locations). As with a childminder, you would be administratively responsible for employing or co-employing the professional.
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Financial assistance from INRAE
If you are a permanent or contractual INRAE employee with a child or children younger than 6 years of age, you may be eligible for service checks (Chèque emploi service universel, or CESU), depending on your income level. Service checks are subsidised by INRAE and can be used to pay for all or part of your childcare costs, whether this care takes place within the home (e.g., babysitting, occasional childcare) or outside the home (e.g., full- or part-time childcare at a centre, care provided by childminders and other qualified providers).
To find out if you qualify, please contact the head of human resources at your INRAE research centre.
