France launches new government service authorized to withdraw money directly from the bank accounts of parents who do not pay child support
PARIS – France launches new government service authorized to withdraw money directly from the bank accounts of parents who do not pay child support, with the aim of helping many families – the vast majority of whom are single parents – come out difficult financial situations.
President Emmanuel Macron denounced in a tweet unpaid child support as “an unbearable situation for hundreds of thousands of single parents”, before visiting a distribution agency on Tuesday in Tours, in central France, which provides the new service.
“Thank you” for the measure, a single parent of three children told Macron, detailing her personal situation, with domestic violence and harassment of her ex-husband and serious financial problems. “It’s a big relief,” she said.
The mothers who spoke to Macron did not give their names for privacy reasons.
French authorities estimate that between 30% and 40% of child support amounts are either not paid, but are only partially paid or late paid, leaving at least 300,000 families in financial uncertainty.
Single parents represent one of the four families in France, of which 85% are mothers. A third live below the poverty line.
For these families, the most important thing is to get child support – an average of € 209 per month for each child.
The measure is also aimed at avoiding financial pressures and threats sometimes posed by dying parents.
Under the new system, any mother or father can apply for the new government service, regardless of whether the other parent disagrees. Once in place, the service handles the payment of the money until the child is 18 years old.
The issue was raised in 2019 during the ‘big debate’ launched by Macron to enable the French to voice their grievances after weeks of protests against yellow government, exposing social injustice.
“I was struck by the number of women who told me they could not live decently because their maintenance was not paid,” Macron said at the time.
Many countries across Europe have similar problems.
In neighboring Belgium, dying parents were a problem to the point that the government acted by creating a special service that helped people in their legal quest to get the money and hand out advances if necessary.
Last year, the Czech government proposed a program to guarantee the payment of child support to single parents, which will take effect on 1 July. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs estimates that the state will initially cover child support up to 3,000 Czech koruna ($ 140) per month for about 24,000 children. The government will then demand the money from those who did not pay.
According to Germany, about half of all child support by divorced parents is not or is not paid in full. In cases where the parents are too poor, the state pays child support until the children are 18 years old.
In Poland, a law of 2007 established a fund that pays up to 500 zlotys ($ 134) for children who do not receive alimony. Before that, parents can ask for a court order to try to obtain the money, but only about 13% of the arrears or unpaid maintenance money is redeemed.
In many other countries, such as Greece, Spain and Portugal, the highway is asked in court, which often leads to lengthy delays and expensive procedures before any decision is made.
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Raf Casert in Brussels, Karel Janicek in Prague, Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Derek Gatopoulos in Athens, Aritz Parra in Madrid, Barry Hatton in Lisbon contributed to the story.