Macron proposes fertility tests for 25-year olds

France's president has proposed offering state-funded fertility tests to 25-year olds, as one way to reverse the decline in the country's birth rate.

President Emmanuel Macron announced a series of proposals to support what he referred to as a 'demographic rearmament' of the country, after 2023 had the lowest number of births registered in any years since the second World War. According to a 2022 report commissioned by the French government, about a quarter of all French couples are affected by infertility, which Macron described as 'the taboo of the century'.

'We have children later and later,' he said in a televised press conference. 'Infertility, masculine and feminine, has increased a lot in recent years, and it causes a lot of couples to suffer.'

Seven percent fewer births were registered in France last year, compared to 2022, and 20 percent fewer than 2020. However, France still has a higher fertility rate than many west-European countries, including the UK.

Commentators point to women having children later in life and the idea that sperm counts are declining globally (see BioNews 1168) for the falling birth rate. It has been argued this has been compounded by socioeconomic factors such as high cost of living, environmental concerns, and failure to tackle childcare challenges.

Amélie Beauchemin, a 30-year-old lawyer in Paris, told the Washington Post: 'You have to make people want to have children. It's not just a question of whether we have the mechanical and scientific ability to have them'.

In addition to offering free fertility testing, other policies proposed by the President during the press conference included a more generous parental leave. 'A new, better paid parental leave will allow both parents to be with their children for six months if they want,' Macron said.

France has policies in place to provide financial support for families, with policies for families with three children or more introduced in the 1980s, and extended to two-child families in the 1990s. A United Nations Population Fund 2023 State of the World Population report said countries needed to move away from policies that seek to influence birth rates, and instead encouraged governments to empower people, in part, with access to appropriate healthcare.

The President's announcement caused a strong reaction, especially Macron's use of military language, which was criticised by Anne-Cécile Mailfert, president of the Women's Foundation advocacy group who told France TV's Ce Soir programme: 'Women don't have children so that they can become soldiers, and children are not weapons.'

However, measures to combat infertility and reduce stigma were welcomed by advocacy group Collectif Bamp!, whose president Virginie Rio told France 24: 'Infertility is still an issue that is mistreated by society, and the people concerned are mistreated too'.