Child Support in France (Pension Alimentaire): Rules, Payment, and Enforcement

In France, pension alimentaire is the child support a separated parent pays to help cover a child's day to day costs. French law ties the obligation to each parent's own means, not to marriage or custody labels, and it typically continues well beyond a child's 18th birthday if that child still cannot support themselves.

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

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers pension alimentaire (child support) law in France only. Rules differ in other countries, including Canada, Belgium, and Switzerland.

What Is Pension Alimentaire?

Under Code civil article 371-2, each parent must contribute to their child's upkeep and education in proportion to their own resources, the other parent's resources, and the child's needs. When parents separate, article 373-2-2 says that contribution normally takes the form of a pension alimentaire: a recurring payment from one parent to the other, or to whoever the child lives with.

The pension does not have to be a bank transfer. Article 373-2-2 also allows it to take the form of direct coverage of the child's expenses (school fees, health costs, and similar items), or a right of use and habitation over property, depending on what the family court judge or the parents' own agreement sets out.

Pension alimentaire is separate from the broader question of parental authority. Losing parental authority, or having it withdrawn, does not cancel the duty to contribute financially. Who decides for the child and who pays for the child are treated as separate questions under French law. For how decision making authority is assigned and shared, see our guide to parental authority in France.

What Does the Pension Cover?

Article 371-2 frames the obligation broadly, as a contribution to the child's entretien et éducation, upkeep and education. In everyday terms, that generally means a share of ordinary living costs: housing, food, clothing, health care not otherwise reimbursed, and schooling or training expenses. The exact scope is not itemized by statute; it is set through the amount fixed by the parents' agreement or the court, which is meant to reflect the real, ongoing cost of raising the child, not a single named expense.

Who Must Pay It, and Until When?

Either parent can be the paying parent. In practice it is usually the parent the child does not live with day to day, but the obligation flows from parenthood itself, not from a marriage certificate or a custody order. Unmarried, divorced, and separated parents are all covered the same way.

A common misconception is that the pension stops automatically once a child turns 18. It does not. Article 371-2 is explicit on this point: the obligation does not end by operation of law, either when parental authority is withdrawn or when the child reaches the age of majority (majorité). In practice, a pension for an adult child usually continues while that child is still in education or otherwise cannot support themselves financially, until they finish their studies or become self sufficient. The amount is not frozen for life either; it can be revisited by agreement or by the court as the family's circumstances, and the adult child's own situation, change over time.

How Is the Amount Set?

The family court judge, the juge aux affaires familiales (JAF), sets the amount when parents cannot agree between themselves, weighing each parent's real resources and charges against the child's real needs, per article 371-2. Parents who reach a mutual agreement, for example as part of a mutual consent divorce, can also fix the figure themselves, subject to the court's approval.

To make the process more predictable, the Ministry of Justice publishes an indicative scale, or barème, on justice.fr. It is only a starting reference point, not a rule the judge must follow. We walk through exactly how that scale works, including a full worked calculation, in our companion guide to how pension alimentaire is calculated.

Automatic Payment Through ARIPA

Since 1 January 2023, most pensions are no longer paid directly from one parent to the other. Instead, payment runs through ARIPA (Agence de recouvrement et d'intermédiation des pensions alimentaires), which intermediates the transfer via the CAF or the MSA. The paying parent's payment is collected and passed on by the agency rather than handed over parent to parent.

This intermediation is now the default for essentially every enforceable child support title. It is only set aside in two situations: both parents jointly ask, in the title itself, for it not to apply, or a judge decides, by a specially reasoned decision, that intermediation is not suited to the situation. Neither parent can opt out unilaterally.

There is one hard limit on the opt out itself. Where either parent raises an allegation of threats or violence by the other parent against them or against the child, intermediation is put in place regardless, without needing either parent's agreement. The safety exception overrides the joint opt out.

In practice, intermediation changes who each parent deals with. The paying parent's monthly amount is collected by the CAF or MSA rather than handed to the other parent directly, and the agency then passes the funds on to the parent who has the child. Neither parent needs to chase the other for payment month to month, and the agency's own records provide a running account of what has and has not been paid, which becomes useful evidence if enforcement is ever needed.

What Happens If a Parent Does Not Pay?

ARIPA has recovery powers of its own, including wage garnishment (saisie), which can be used before any criminal process is needed. Because payment now runs through the agency in most cases, missed payments are also easier to track and pursue.

Non-payment can also be a crime. Under Code pénal article 227-3, a parent who goes more than two months without fully paying a pension alimentaire ordered by a court commits the offense known as abandon de famille (family abandonment), punishable by up to two years' imprisonment and a 15 000 euro fine.

Pension Alimentaire Under Shared Custody

Shared or alternating custody, résidence alternée, does not automatically cancel the pension. The Ministry of Justice's own indicative scale includes a distinct, lower "alterné" rate specifically for this situation, which only makes sense if a pension can still be due when custody is split evenly. Where both parents earn comparable incomes and each covers the child's costs directly during their own custody time, no pension may be needed. Where incomes are significantly unequal, a pension from the higher earning parent can still be ordered, just at the reduced alterné rate rather than the classique rate. Our guide to shared custody in France covers how alternating residence itself is decided.

Does the Pension Continue for an Adult Child?

Yes, it can. Because article 371-2 does not end the obligation at majority, a pension for a child aged 18 or older continues in the same cases described above: typically while the adult child is still studying or training and cannot yet support themselves. The amount and the payment method can be revisited as the adult child's situation changes.

This is a point worth stating plainly, because it is one of the most common misunderstandings about pension alimentaire. Turning 18 changes some things: the young adult usually manages their own affairs and can be the direct recipient of the pension rather than the parent. It does not, by itself, end the paying parent's duty to contribute. Whether the pension continues, and for how long, still comes back to the same standard as before majority: whether the child can support themselves. A young adult who finishes their studies and starts working can see the pension end or be reduced; one who remains in higher education or vocational training typically continues to receive support, subject to the same kind of review a court or the parents themselves can carry out at any point.

The proposal discussed below in "A Proposal That Has Not Become Law" is specifically about this situation, an adult child who receives their own pension directly rather than through a parent. Its status matters for exactly the families reading this section, which is why it is addressed here rather than only as a general policy note.

Pension Alimentaire and Income Tax

Under the tax regime currently in force, a paying parent can generally deduct the pension alimentaire they pay from their taxable income, and the parent who receives it generally declares it as taxable income, within limits set each year. A change that would have removed this deduction was adopted by the Assemblée nationale on 25 October 2025 as part of the 2026 budget debate, but it was rejected on 21 November 2025 and left out of the final finance law for 2026. The existing deduction regime, in place before that debate, is what currently applies. Anyone relying on the tax treatment of a pension should check the current year's rules directly, since budget rules are revisited annually.

A Proposal That Has Not Become Law

A bill to extend ARIPA intermediation to adult children who receive their pension directly, rather than through a parent, passed the Assemblée nationale on 14 March 2024. As of this writing it remains stalled in the Senate, with no floor vote or promulgation on record. It is not current law, and nothing on this page should be read as describing it as being in force.

Common questions about pension alimentaire in France:

Disclaimer

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Pension alimentaire amounts and enforcement depend on each family's specific facts. For guidance on an individual situation, consult a French family law avocat or contact your local juge aux affaires familiales.