France (FR)
France is a unitary semi-presidential republic and the EU's most visited country, renowned for its world-class cuisine and wine, the iconic City of Light that is Paris, the French Riviera, iconic Alpine ski resorts, and a generous social state offering universal healthcare, extensive family benefits, and strong worker protections.
Social Security in France
Benefits, contributions, and how the system works for expats.
France has one of the most comprehensive and generous social protection systems in the world, funded through social contributions (cotisations sociales) and the two social taxes CSG (Contribution Sociale Généralisée, 9.2%) and CRDS (Contribution au Remboursement de la Dette Sociale, 0.5%). It is organised into régimes: the Régime général (for salaried employees, run through URSSAF, CPAM, CAF, CARSAT), the Régime agricole (MSA), and various régimes spéciaux (SNCF, RATP, fonction publique). As an expat, you join the Régime général as soon as you work legally in France — automatic enrolment via your employer. Cotisations fund health (CPAM), family (CAF), retirement (CNAV + AGIRC-ARRCO), unemployment (France Travail/Unédic), and workplace injuries (AT/MP).
Social Security Number
Numéro de Sécurité Sociale (NIR) / Numéro d'inscription au Répertoire
For French-born citizens: assigned at birth. For expats: request an NIR provisoire (temporary 7-digit identifier starting with 7 or 8 for foreigners) via your employer or CPAM, then an NIR définitif (15-digit number based on birth data) after CPAM verifies your civil status documents. Processing for NIR définitif: 3–6 months — bring passport, acte de naissance (less than 3 months old, apostilled + sworn translation), titre de séjour, justificatif de domicile. Cross-border workers or students follow a similar process. Once issued, it is for life and should never be shared beyond necessary administrative use.
- Bulletin de paie and all employment tax filings
- Claiming Assurance Maladie reimbursements (Carte Vitale)
- Registering with CAF, France Travail, URSSAF, DGFiP
- Applying for allocations familiales, APL, RSA, PAJE
- Retirement pension records (CNAV + AGIRC-ARRCO)
- Opening an espace personnel on ameli.fr, impots.gouv.fr, service-public.fr
Benefits & Support Payments
Unemployment benefit (ARE)
Allocation d'aide au retour à l'emploi (ARE)
Income replacement funded through contributions to Unédic/France Travail when you lose a job through no fault of your own (end of CDD, rupture conventionnelle, licenciement).
Must have worked at least 6 months (130 days or 910 hours) in the past 24 months (36 if 53+). Must register with France Travail within 12 months of job end. Must be actively looking for work and accept reasonable offers. Voluntary resignation (démission) generally excludes you except in specific cases (démission légitime: following spouse, professional reconversion with validated project, harassment, etc.).
Register online at francetravail.fr (ex-Pôle emploi). Create your compte and complete your dossier: ID, derniers bulletins de salaire, attestation employeur destinée à France Travail, RIB. Conseiller meeting within 1 month. Benefits start after a différé d'indemnisation (waiting period based on congés payés and indemnités de rupture — min 7 days).
Active Solidarity Income (RSA)
Revenu de Solidarité Active (RSA)
Means-tested minimum income for people with no or very low income — funded by the Département and administered by CAF or MSA. Since 2025 (expérimentation) / 2026 (generalised) RSA beneficiaries must complete 15–20h/week of activity (training, work, accompagnement intensif France Travail).
Resident in France legally and stably (EU citizens need 5 years of residence if economically inactive, 3 months otherwise if working). Age 25+ (or 18–24 if parent or 2 years of full-time work). No asset test but revenues (salary, allocations, pensions, rents) and rental value of property owned deduct from the amount. Must sign a contrat d'engagement (since 2025 reform) with France Travail/Département.
Apply online at caf.fr (or msa.fr if agricultural). Simulator available first. Upload: ID, titre de séjour, justificatif de domicile, declaration de ressources, RIB. Processing 2–6 weeks. Payments monthly from the 5th.
Housing Allowance (APL / ALS / ALF)
Aides au logement (APL — Aide Personnalisée au Logement)
Monthly subsidy from CAF to help pay rent or mortgage. APL for conventioned housing, ALF for families in non-conventioned, ALS residual. Since 2021 calculated on the last 12 months rolling of income ("contemporanéisation").
Tenant (private sector, HLM, chambre CROUS, foyer, résidence étudiante), sous-locataire déclaré, or mortgage borrower (APL accession — limited since 2018). Below income threshold. Rental contract in own name with signed bail. Students on modest income often eligible.
Simulation at caf.fr. Create account, apply online with bail, RIB, justificatif d'état civil, déclaration de ressources. Processing 4–8 weeks. Paid from the month following the first full month of eligibility.
Family Allowances
Allocations familiales
Monthly cash benefit paid by CAF for families with 2 or more dependent children under 20. Not subject to means-test (full amount up to a threshold, then reduced in 2 tiers).
At least 2 dependent children under 20 residing primarily in France. Parent resident in France (EU citizens from day 1, non-EU with valid residence permit + justificatifs d'entrée régulière de l'enfant — attestation de l'OFII). Income affects only the tiered reduction, not basic eligibility.
Register on caf.fr — automatic if already known to CAF for a previous benefit. Otherwise provide livret de famille or actes de naissance of children, RIB. Paid from the 5th of each month.
Back-to-school allowance (ARS)
Allocation de Rentrée Scolaire
One-off annual payment to cover back-to-school costs (books, supplies, clothing) for children aged 6–18 in school or apprenticeship.
Child age 6–18 by 31 December. Household income below annual plafond (€27,141 for 1 child 2026 — rises by €6,259 per additional child). Child must be enrolled in school or apprenticeship.
Automatic for CAF-known families — paid mid-August. For first-time claim: declare scolarisation on caf.fr.
Early childhood benefits (PAJE)
Prestation d'Accueil du Jeune Enfant (PAJE)
Package of 4 benefits: prime à la naissance/adoption (€1,089 at 7th month), allocation de base (monthly €193.30 to child's 3rd birthday, means-tested), PreParE (shared parental leave allowance), CMG (Complément Mode de Garde — covers assistante maternelle costs).
Prime à la naissance: income below threshold (€47,294 for 1 child, couple, 2026). Allocation de base: same threshold. PreParE: reduced professional activity after birth, parent with 8 trimestres validated in last 2 years (1 child), 4 in last 4 years (2 children), 8 in last 5 years (3+). CMG: using an assistante maternelle, crèche employing, or garde à domicile.
Declare pregnancy to CAF within 14 weeks. Complete PAJE application on caf.fr. CMG declared via Pajemploi (pajemploi.urssaf.fr) for the assistante maternelle.
Maternity / Paternity Benefit
Indemnités journalières maternité / paternité
Salary replacement during maternity leave (16 weeks standard, extended for multiple births or 3rd+ child) and paternity/accueil de l'enfant leave (28 days since July 2021 — 25 + 3 obligatory days from birth).
Must be affiliated with Assurance Maladie for at least 10 months at expected birth date, and worked at least 150 hours in 3 months or paid cotisations on min €11,446 (2026). Indépendants receive a different forfait via their CPAM.
Declare pregnancy to CPAM and CAF within 14 weeks. Submit arrêts de travail maternité from your gynécologue. CPAM pays IJSS directly to employer or employee depending on maintien de salaire in convention collective. Paternity leave: notify employer 1 month ahead.
Sick leave (IJSS)
Indemnités Journalières de Sécurité Sociale — maladie
Income replacement from CPAM for ill workers after a 3-day waiting period (délai de carence). Employer may top up to full salary under convention collective or Loi de mensualisation.
Affiliated with Assurance Maladie; 150 hours worked in 3 months OR cotisations on €11,446 min in 6 months. Valid arrêt de travail signed by a médecin.
Send volets 1 & 2 of your arrêt de travail to CPAM within 48 hours; volet 3 to employer. Most médecins now use Avis d'arrêt de travail dématérialisé transmitted electronically. Payments every 14 days.
Child sick leave
Congé pour enfant malade
Unpaid leave (by default) to care for a sick child under 16. Many conventions collectives upgrade to partial paid leave.
Parent of a child under 16 with a medical certificate. Applies to salaried employees in private sector.
Provide médecin certificate to employer. Check convention collective — some (SYNTEC, Métallurgie) top up to paid.
Long-term care support (APA / PCH)
Allocation Personnalisée d'Autonomie (APA) / Prestation de Compensation du Handicap (PCH)
APA: home-care or residential-care support for age 60+ assessed in GIR 1–4 (grille AGGIR). PCH: compensates living with a long-term disability under 60 (extended to 60+ under conditions).
APA: 60+, GIR 1–4 assessed by conseil départemental. PCH: long-term disability affecting 1 essential activity or 2 partially. No age limit if before 60 of disability onset.
Apply at your Conseil départemental via MDPH (Maison Départementale des Personnes Handicapées) for PCH, or service APA for APA. Medical assessment + income declaration.
State pension
Retraite de base du régime général (CNAV) + complémentaire AGIRC-ARRCO
Pay-as-you-go pension system — CNAV (or CARSAT in regions) pays base pension; AGIRC-ARRCO (since 2019 merger) pays mandatory complementary pension for private-sector workers. Functions on trimestres + points.
Legal retirement age: progressively raised from 62 to 64 by 2030 per Loi du 14 avril 2023. Full-rate (taux plein) requires 172 trimestres (43 years) for those born after 1965. Automatic taux plein at 67 regardless of trimestres. Minimum 1 trimestre to receive any pension.
Apply 4–6 months before desired retirement date on info-retraite.fr (single portal for all regimes). Required: livret de famille, titres de séjour, RIB, all bulletins de paie (or reconstitution by CARSAT), attestations de services militaires. Request relevé de carrière free.
Solidarity old-age allowance (ASPA)
Allocation de Solidarité aux Personnes Âgées (ASPA — ex-minimum vieillesse)
Top-up payment for retirees with low overall income (pension + other). Funded by state via CNAV/MSA. Potentially recoverable from estate above €107,616 asset threshold.
65+ (or 62 with invalidity), legal resident in France 10+ years (since 2020), income below ASPA ceiling.
Request form from CARSAT. Submit bank statements, income declarations, titre de séjour.
Contribution Overview
Cotisations sociales are split between salarié and employeur (unlike Germany, the employer share in France is much heavier). For a typical cadre salary of €4,000 gross/month (2026): Employee cotisations ≈ 22% of gross (€880) → net before tax €3,120. Employer cotisations ≈ 42% on top (€1,680) → super-gross cost €5,680. Breakdown (employee shares): Maladie 0% (paid by employer 7% or 13% above 2.5× SMIC), Vieillesse de base 6.9% + 0.4% déplafonné, AGIRC-ARRCO 3.15%/8.64%, Assurance chômage 0% (employer 4.05%), APEC cadres 0.024%, CSG déductible 6.8% + CSG non déductible 2.4% + CRDS 0.5% on 98.25% of gross. Cotisations capped at plafond sécurité sociale (PASS) €48,060/year (€4,005/month) in 2026 (source: urssaf.fr) for certain brackets. Self-employed (indépendants, micro-entrepreneurs) pay via URSSAF at ~22% (service BIC/BNC) to ~45% (régime réel).
International Social Security Agreements
France has totalization / social security agreements with 40+ countries outside the EU/EEA, including the USA, Canada, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, Israel, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Senegal, Argentina, Chile, Philippines, Turkey. Within the EU/EEA/Switzerland/UK: Regulation (EC) 883/2004 and trade agreements ensure no double contribution, transferable entitlements (U1, U2, S1, S2 forms), and proratisation of pension trimestres across countries. Contact CLEISS (cleiss.fr) for bilateral convention details. Detachment: posted workers from a signatory country remain affiliated with the home system for up to 3 years.
All social contributions appear on your bulletin de paie (payslip) in detail — employer deducts at source. Self-employed (indépendants, micro-entrepreneurs, professions libérales) pay directly to URSSAF (via autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr monthly or quarterly). Since 2020 the Prélèvement à la source (PAS) deducts income tax in addition to social contributions from your payslip. For any questions, the unified service point is mesdroitssociaux.gouv.fr — simulates entitlement across all regimes. Physical contact: France Services (1,200+ points) combine CAF, CPAM, France Travail, DGFiP assistance in one local office.
Social Security
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