There are now 63.4 million French people to deal with. Last month, the INSEE, the French Institute of Statistics, released the official figure, confirming what has become apparent over the last few years—with curved bellies flourishing under pullovers and barrage of pushchairs hogging pavement space: France is witnessing a baby-boom.
Not since 1981 has a higher figure been recorded in France. With 830,900 births in 2006, satisfied politicians announced “a successful year for births,” though not quite the level that was reached in 1949, when the post-war boom (in a less populated France) reached 872,700 births.
With the official figure of two children per female, France is now probably (all figures are not available yet) the most fertile nation in Europe, where the average stands at just 1.5 children per female. Even though the country’s birth rate fells short of the “ideal” 2.1 children per woman (the rate which assures that the number of births equals the number of deaths in a country), France’s reproducing capacities are the envy of other nations. Only Ireland, Norway and Sweden come close. On the other hand, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Eastern European countries fall well short of the European average, reporting “baby blues” instead.
So why is the bump the latest fashion accessory for French women? High fertility rate in Ireland, which held the crown for fertility in the past but might have just slipped into second position, was explained by religion—Irish people tend to be fervent Catholics—and optimism triggered by an ever-strengthening economy.
France however, isn’t a deeply religious country: only 9 percent of the population attends mass once or twice a month; so religion can’t explain this mass reproduction. Presently, France isn’t a happy country either. Last year, media coverage underlined widespread dissatisfaction, punctuated with the non vote in the European constitution referendum, and the disillusionment of the Olympic bid refusal. Thus, the theory of a good-times reproduction doesn’t quite fit either.
Politics have played a leading role in these turnaround figures.
In fact, politics plays a leading role in these turnaround figures. For the past fifty years, governments obsessed over birth rates. Since 1993, when France’s diminishing reproduction figures hit an all time low of 1.66, both leftists and rightists rallied for a friendlier parental environment. Financial incentives for multiple births, tax leniency with respect to nannies, free public education from 3 years of age, generous leave for both parents after a birth, and a growing number of places in state-owned crèches, or day-care centres encourage the birth rate.
Immigration also contributes greatly to the increasing number of French babies. Without immigrant mothers, fertility rates would be a mere 1.8 children per woman. In Seine-Saint-Denis, for instance, the department responsible for the largest birth rate in France (2.44), 40 percent of recorded births take place in the immigrant population.
La Mayenne in the Loire region, however, scored a 2.21, although only one percent of births can be attributed to the foreign population. So the “maternal glow” is felt country and community wide. The lowest figures are recorded in Paris, Corse-du-Sud and Alpes-Maritimes (Nice, Cannes, etc.).
With women juggling careers and motherhood, the boom has been generated by the over 30’s who are responsible for 52.8 percent of recorded births. France’s mature mothers are starting a family after completing lengthy studies and launching their careers. Not just content with one baby, they will go on to have 2 or 3 after a delayed start.
Is the reproduction rate set to last in France? With an ageing population and figures revealing that the number of women of procreation age (between 20 to 40 years of age), being considerably lower in the next decade, it is unlikely that the future generation of French mothers will be able to hold the title of most fertile in Europe. Statisticians suggest that the bébé boom will soon be over, and the bump will be very much last season.
