How to Calculate Pension Alimentaire in France: The Official Barème

Calculating pension alimentaire in France starts with the Ministry of Justice's own indicative scale, the barème. This guide walks through the official formula step by step, with two full worked examples, and explains why simply reading a percentage off the table understates what a family with more than one child actually owes.

Information last verified on 19 July 2026. This article presents general legal information, not legal advice.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers the pension alimentaire (child support) calculation method used in France only. Rules and formulas differ in other countries.

How Pension Alimentaire Is Calculated in France

Our companion guide to pension alimentaire in France covers who owes it and how it is paid. This page focuses on the number: the indicative scale the Ministry of Justice publishes on justice.fr, how the formula actually works, and two worked examples that show the calculation in full.

The Official Ministry of Justice Scale

The table below is taken directly from justice.fr's own barème (last updated on the source page 2 April 2024). It gives a percentage rate per child, which varies by the number of children in the family and by the custody arrangement: réduit (a more limited visitation schedule for the non resident parent), classique (the standard arrangement, typically one weekend in two plus half of school holidays), or alterné (equal alternating residence).

The percentage rates come straight from justice.fr's own barème page and the configuration behind its simulator, not from a third party republication. One point about the floor is worth being precise on, because it explains a difference of a few cents. The Ministry's simulator subtracts a flat 652 euros, a rounded figure its barème page has carried since April 2024. The RSA montant forfaitaire for a single person is currently 651,69 euros after the revaluation of 1 April 2026 (décret n° 2026-220). The examples below use 652, so that they reproduce exactly what the official tool outputs today. A calculation built on the newer 651,69 figure is not wrong in principle, it simply returns a few cents more than the Ministry's own simulator will show. That distinction matters, because several commercial sites publish a different classique column (numbers rising as high as the low thirty percent range for larger families). Those published figures do not match the Ministry's own table and should not be used. Everywhere on this page, the classique rate for one child is 13.5%, for two children 11.5%, for three children 10.0%, and so on down the table above.

What Réduit, Classique, and Alterné Mean

The three columns correspond to three different custody arrangements, as justice.fr itself defines them. Classique is the standard pattern: the child's residence is fixed at one parent's home, while the other parent has a right of visit and stay, typically one weekend in two plus half of school holidays. Alterné means the child lives alternately and equally with each parent. Réduit corresponds to a more limited right of visit and stay than the classique arrangement, for example when the non resident parent sees the child less often than every other weekend. Each column uses a different rate precisely because the paying parent's direct, day to day costs for the child differ under each arrangement.

Step by Step: The Calculation Method

Justice.fr's formula has three steps.

1. Start with the paying parent's net monthly income.
2. Subtract a flat floor amount. That floor is the RSA montant forfaitaire for a single person, which the Ministry's simulator applies as a flat 652 euros. The current RSA figure is 651,69 euros since 1 April 2026, so the tool is carrying a slightly rounded value; the examples here use 652 to match the official output. This floor is subtracted once, regardless of how many children are involved. It is not a per child deduction.
3. Multiply that result by the percentage rate that matches the number of children and the custody arrangement, using the table above. That gives the amount for one child. Then multiply that per child figure by the number of children to reach the total monthly pension. Justice.fr's own guidance is explicit that the result must be multiplied by the number of children.

Because the RSA floor is revalued periodically, this 652 euro figure will change again. Anyone using the method after a future revaluation should confirm the current RSA amount before calculating.

Worked Example: One Child

Consider a paying parent with a net monthly income of 2 200 euros, under a classique custody arrangement with one child.

Step 1: Start with 2 200 euros. Step 2: Subtract the floor: 2 200 minus 652 equals 1 548 euros. Step 3: Apply the one child, classique rate of 13.5%: 1 548 multiplied by 13.5% equals 208.98 euros.

Because there is only one child, no further multiplication is needed. The indicative total is 208.98 euros per month.

Worked Example: Three Children

Now take the same net monthly income of 2 200 euros, still under a classique custody arrangement, but for three children instead of one.

Step 1: Start with 2 200 euros. Step 2: Subtract the floor: 2 200 minus 652 equals 1 548 euros. The floor is subtracted once, not once per child. Step 3: Apply the three children, classique rate of 10.0%: 1 548 multiplied by 10.0% equals 154.80 euros. That is the per child figure. Step 4: Multiply by the number of children: 154.80 multiplied by 3 equals 464.40 euros.

The indicative total for three children is 464.40 euros per month, even though the per child rate (10.0%) is lower than the one child rate (13.5%), and even though the per child euro amount (154.80 euros) is lower than the one child result (208.98 euros). The total is still more than double the one child pension, because it is multiplied across three children. Reading only the percentage column, without the multiplication step, would understate this family's indicative pension by two thirds.

For Comparison: Two Children

Placing a two child family at the midpoint helps show the pattern. Same net monthly income, 2 200 euros, same classique arrangement, now for two children.

Step 1: Start with 2 200 euros. Step 2: Subtract the floor: 2 200 minus 652 equals 1 548 euros. Step 3: Apply the two children, classique rate of 11.5%: 1 548 multiplied by 11.5% equals 178.02 euros per child. Step 4: Multiply by the number of children: 178.02 multiplied by 2 equals 356.04 euros.

Lined up together, the three results at the same 2 200 euro income show the shape of the barème clearly: 208.98 euros for one child, 356.04 euros for two children, 464.40 euros for three children. The per child rate falls at every step (13.5%, then 11.5%, then 10.0%), yet the total keeps rising, because each step also multiplies by a larger number of children.

These worked examples are illustrations of the official method applied to a hypothetical income. They are not predictions of what a court will order in an actual case. As the next section explains, the juge aux affaires familiales is not bound by the barème and regularly sets a different figure based on the real facts in front of it.

Does the Barème Bind the Judge?

No. Justice.fr describes its own simulator as an indicative tool, and states plainly that it is the judge who fixes the amount of the pension. Code civil article 371-2 directs the juge aux affaires familiales to weigh each parent's actual resources, the other parent's resources, and the child's actual needs, not to apply a formula automatically. The barème is a useful starting estimate, commonly used by parents, avocats, and courts alike as a reference point, but the judge can and does depart from it.

A separate scale exists for pensions fixed without going to court. When parents or ARIPA fix or revise a pension administratively, through the CAF or MSA intermediation service, that process uses its own CAF and MSA barème, distinct from the Ministry of Justice's simulator, though built on similar logic.

Factors That Can Change the Amount a Judge Sets

Because the barème is only indicative, a judge weighing a real case under article 371-2 can adjust the figure up or down based on facts the simulator does not capture: the actual, documented resources of each parent (not just net salary), each parent's own fixed charges, the child's specific needs (health, schooling, or other costs), and the real custody arrangement, including situations that fall between the three barème categories. Custody itself, including how alternating residence is decided, is covered in our guide to shared custody in France. Parents who reach their own agreement on the amount, for example within a mutual consent divorce, still need that figure approved by the court.

The barème also cannot see everything the judge is entitled to weigh. It works from a single net income figure and a custody label, but it does not know about a parent's other dependents, a large debt repayment, unusually high housing costs in a given city, or a child's specific medical or schooling needs. Two families that land on the same barème figure can still receive different court ordered amounts once a judge accounts for those differences, which is exactly why justice.fr presents the tool as a starting point rather than an answer.

Using the Barème as a Starting Point, Not a Guarantee

The most reliable way to use the official scale is as a first estimate to bring into a conversation with the other parent, a mediator, or an avocat, not as a number to expect a judge to enter verbatim. Because the RSA floor changes periodically and the rate table itself could be revised by the Ministry of Justice, the figures on this page should be checked against the current version of justice.fr's own simulator before being used for anything beyond general orientation.

A few practical questions about the calculation:

Disclaimer

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. The barème and the worked examples above illustrate an official calculation method; they are not a prediction of what any court will order in a specific case. For guidance on an individual situation, consult a French family law avocat or contact your local juge aux affaires familiales.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the formula behind the official pension alimentaire barème?

Subtract 652 euros, the RSA floor as revalued on 1 April 2026, from the paying parent's net monthly income. Multiply the result by the percentage rate that matches the number of children and the custody arrangement (réduit, classique, or alterné). Then multiply that per child figure by the number of children.

Why does the percentage rate go down as the number of children goes up?

The Ministry of Justice built the scale so each additional child adds a smaller marginal share, since shared household costs do not multiply one for one. Because the per child result is then multiplied by the number of children, the total pension still rises with each child. It is only the per child rate that falls.

Is the 652 euro floor a fixed number?

No. It tracks the RSA montant forfaitaire for a single person, which is revalued periodically, most recently to 652 euros on 1 April 2026. Any calculation using this figure should be checked against the current RSA amount before relying on it.

Some websites list different percentages than the ones on this page. Which is correct?

The rates in this article are taken directly from the Ministry of Justice's own barème on justice.fr. A different classique column circulating on some non official sites does not match justice.fr's published figures and should not be used.

Is a judge required to follow the barème result?

No. Justice.fr describes the scale as an indicative tool. The juge aux affaires familiales sets the actual amount under Code civil article 371-2, weighing each parent's real resources and the child's real needs, and can depart from the barème figure.

Is there a different scale for setting a pension without going to court?

Yes. A separate CAF and MSA scale is used through the ARIPA intermediation service when parents fix or revise a pension outside of a judge's ruling. It follows similar logic to the Ministry of Justice's own tool but is a distinct calculation.

Do the worked examples on this page predict what a court will order?

No. They illustrate how the official method works using a specific hypothetical income. The juge aux affaires familiales is not bound by the barème and can set a different amount based on the specific family's circumstances.