What is the legal duration of maternity leave in France?

The length of maternity leave varies according to the number of children

If the employee is expecting her first or second child, and in the case of a single pregnancy (only one child expected), maternity leave is 16 weeks, broken down as follows: six weeks before the date of delivery and 10 weeks after.

The employee can choose to divide her leave between the prenatal and postnatal periods. However, you may not employ the employee for a total of eight weeks before and after the birth.
In addition, you may not employ the employee during the six weeks following the birth.

The employee is entitled to maternity leave, comprising prenatal leave (before the birth) and postnatal leave (after the birth), the duration of which varies according to two criteria:

• the number of children to be born
• the number of children already in your care

Legal duration of maternity leave in France

Guaranteeing an employee's pay and career development during maternity leave

During maternity leave, a pregnant employee receives daily benefits from the French social security system.

To ensure that the employee receives these daily allowances, you, as the employer, must draw up a salary certificate.

In addition, your industry's collective bargaining agreement may require you to top up these allowances to the level of your employee's salary.

Source(s): French Ministry of the Economy and Finance
https://www.economie.gouv.fr/entreprises/conge-maternite-obligations-entreprises#
https://www.economie.gouv.fr/entreprises/duree-conge-maternite